Keane was upset with the way United allowed Rovers back into the game and he told Sky’s Premiership Plus: “We didn’t do enough in the second half. We sat back and Blackburn took advantage.

“We are disappointed with that – we probably took our foot off the gas which is unacceptable.”

Asked how close United are to hitting top form, the Irishman added: “After that second half performance, a long way yet.”

Van Nistelrooy was more optimistic after he capped a memorable week with another crucial goal.

The Dutchman’s hat-trick helped his country reach Euro 2004 following a 6-0 thrashing of Scotland and he preferred to look to the positives from today’s display.

He said: “In the first half I think we did very well, we were the better team and deserved to be 2-0 up.

“At half-time we said we wanted to do what we did in the first half but it didn’t work out.

“It’s fantastic to qualify with Holland and to play a game like this and score a goal is great.

“A few of the players played on Wednesday so it was a hard game for us today, that’s why three points are great. Now we have a few days to rest.”