THIS weekend marks the third game in this season’s trilogy of Liverpool and Manchester United matches. So far so good for our Reds – a creditable home draw in the league and a superb knock-out blow in the FA Cup.

The matches have also had that tasty ingredient of the renewed keen professional rivalry that lies between those two managerial masters, Kenny Dalglish and Sir Alex Ferguson. And, you know, we’ve missed it. Neither man gives an inch in pursuit of victory and both are on high alert to any sense of perceived injustice or unfair criticism.

And so, when Sir Alex recently piled into ex-Liverpool and BBC stalwart Alan Hansen over an alleged criticism of his team, it was just a natural part of the mind games played by the Glaswegian pair. Hansen defended his patch like he did the penalty area – and suddenly the disagreement and indeed the former Liverpool’s defender’s BBC salary reduction and welcome contract renewal made national news.

As the person responsible for starting his, and Gary Lineker’s careers at the BBC I naturally took a heightened interest. After all, whilst in my post of Editor of Match of the Day in the 90’s I, too, had been on the end of the odd blast from Fergie. And resolutely defended my position on every occasion.

It was back in 1991 that I persuaded Alan to join the BBC’s Match of the Day team. I also gave him some professional advice. An accomplished player, he was now a rookie broadcaster – often a fact ignored by media professionals when they take on new people.

I told him, that as he was settling in, we would watch games being relayed back to BBC Television Centre and work on his analysis together for a short spell. I also pointed out that while I’d watched a thousand games he played the same number. His job? To spot something in each game he saw that I didn’t ....and then find a way of explaining it simply and succinctly for the Match of the Day viewer. And he did...and he did. And he has been delivering incisive and constructive criticism for the past twenty years with some style – in many ways, broadcasting like he played.

Of course, that has meant on occasions tripping over Sir Alex’s view of his Old Trafford side. So be it, but this is just the pitch and toss of being a pundit, managers tend to be selective in what opinions they file away in their memory bank – but invariably it’s the criticism ahead of the praise.

The job of the pundit is to put old allegiances to team and player aside and call it as they see it, and some find it really difficult. I think Alan has risen to that challenge, as has his colleague and Post columnist, Mark Lawrenson. Both have done the job admirably. As also have two of the new names in the punditry game, Roy Keane and Gary Neville.

Keane’s on-screen surgical dismantling of United’s recent disappointing Champions League campaign was as powerful as it was accurate whilst Neville, who looks a little less comfortable in shirt and tie than shirt and shorts, is delivering insightful, opinionated and informed views. Understandably never a favourite on Merseyside, Neville is only recently out of the dressing room and has used that inside knowledge to his advantage rather than been hampered by it.

As a pundit you also have to be prepared to divide opinion – say what you think, not what you think people expect you to say. I once had some interesting news to tell the ‘original’ studio expert the great Jimmy Hill.

“Jimmy, I said, there’s been a survey of viewers about TV football experts and there’s good news AND bad news for you.”

“Oh really - what’s the good news.”

“You’ve been voted their favourite pundit.”

“Oh lovely, and what’s the bad news?”

“Well, I’m afraid you’ve also been voted their least favourite as well.”

“Perfect “said Jimmy.

“Perfect” I countered.

“Yes, the place not to finish in those surveys is in the middle.”

Hansen, Lawrenson, Keane and Neville would all safely avoid no-man’s land.