The Saturday Interview - Brian Doogan meets Manchester United's Chris Casper

"REPLACING Ronnie Johnsen, will you please welcome to the Premiership - Henning Berg!"

Yes, the same Henning Berg who spent three-and-a-half years with Blackburn Rovers - in the Premiership.

Keith Fane may have duffed his announcement of Manchester United's latest recruit to Old Trafford on Wednesday night but few other mistakes could be associated with Berg's debut against Southampton.

The Norwegian performed with poise and precision after being introduced at the beginning of the second half, a baptism which cheered manager Alex Ferguson.

The reaction of Chris Casper, younger son of former Burnley manager Frank, was probably much more ambivalent.

Some time spent in his company earlier on Wednesday makes it impossible to imagine that he would have wished Berg any ill luck.

He is too decent a lad to even contemplate that.

But he is also smart enough to realise that Berg's acquisition hardly increases his chances of breaking into the Premiership champions' regular line-up.

When you throw in the fact that since the end of last season he has been operating on a week-to-week contract, it is easy to see why the 22-year-old centre half has more on his mind than whether Andy Gray's new studio gadgetry adds anything to Sky Sports' presentation of football.

"It's been difficult, especially with the other lads breaking through," admitted Casper, referring to the likes of Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and David Beckham, his contemporaries from United's Youth Cup-winning side of 1991-92.

"It's given me a lot to think about throughout the summer and it hasn't been easy." To apply salt to the wound, Casper underwent a double hernia operation just four days into pre-season when he may otherwise have got run-outs in place of Johnsen or Gary Pallister, whom he regards as the best defender in Britain over the past six seasons.

"I still haven't played again yet and it's been five, six weeks," said Casper, who was expected to feature in a B team game this weekend and in the reserves next week.

"I could have let it go for a while but it was something that needed doing and I decided it would be better done at the time in order to avoid it dragging through the season."

Anyone who might expect all this to be too much for Casper could be surprised.

Far from being broken by a depressing chain of events, the Burnley lad's resolve has been galvanised.

"I just have to keep my head down, work hard and hope for a break," declared Casper, who played with Barrowford Celtic as a free-scoring midfielder in the Hyndburn Boys' League.

"Nobody wants to leave this club and I'm no different.

"There is nobody certain of a place here. Mark Hughes was dropped a few seasons ago and later sold.

"Ryan Giggs has spent time on the sidelines and David Beckham is the classic example now.

"I just have to adjust to the situation and get used to it. "Going elsewhere is obviously something I've considered - everyone wants first team football and you have to think about what's best for you.

"But as regards the contract situation, I don't particularly want to leave."

United is the team Casper supported as a kid so, for him, being at Old Trafford is in reality a Theatre of Dreams.

"You look around and you see the calibre of players you're training with and you think you're the luckiest guy in the world - apart from the last National Lottery winner," said Casper who, like Brian McClair, wields a sharp wit.

Like McClair as well, he says he always enjoyed mathematics and added: "This is very useful whenever I play golf!"

When he left St Theodore's in Burnley at 16 he had nine O-Levels to his name and could have gone to college.

"I faced a choice between combining football with studying or putting all my efforts into a career in football," he recalled.

"But if I hadn't given the football my full attention I figured I would always be wondering what could have been.

"So I opted for football and, hopefully, it's paid off."

A natural aptitude for sports, including athletics and cricket in which he represented Lancashire at Under 13 level, meant he was always likely to follow that route.

Another factor was his closeness to his dad.

"I used to go to all the Burnley games when my dad was manager," said Casper, who earned his prelim coaching badge a few years ago and seems to have the head on him to one day be a manager too.

"I've always had a soft spot for Burnley - the fans are very passionate about their football and it's my hometown team.

"Perhaps signing for them could have jeopardised my relationship with my dad and I would never have wanted that to happen." But United had approached him when he was 12 and it was logical that he should sign for them as an apprentice at 16.

Last season he made his debut in the league and seemed on the brink of the big breakthrough, having filled in admirably for Johnsen.

"The boss told me to get warmed up with Brian McClair and I thought Brian would come on and Roy Keane would slot into the defence," he said.

"To my surprise he threw me in there but I thought I did well and I enjoyed it."

Enjoyment is a central theme at United. It was when Eric Cantona started to show signs of no longer enjoying not only the games but also the training that some people began to suspect something was amiss.

"The way he trained mirrored the way he played - he had a terrific attitude," said Casper.

"But that changed towards the end of last season. He wasn't enjoying it as much.

"He knew he was going to leave."

Chris Casper is determined to ensure that he won't join him.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.