Berbatov lifts lid on what tends to be said in Man Utd's dressing room

Dimitar Berbatov has lifted the lid on what tends to be said in Manchester United's dressing room before a fixture against rivals Liverpool.

United prepare to host Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday and go into the game in the unusual position of huge underdogs. Jurgen Klopp's side have won every game in the Premier League this season, while United sit 12th with just two wins from eight games.

It's a far cry from the position United used to occupy during Berbatov's time at the club, but the former striker has revealed that the words spoken before Liverpool games always stay in players' minds on the pitch.

"Sharing a dressing room with the likes of Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, you really knew how important these types of matches are," Berbatov said in his regular blog for Betfair.

"Gary Neville was always up for the games against Liverpool, he was always pumped up and motivated, you could see the way he was preparing before the games, we would have a couple minutes of silence and do some stretching then there would be a burst of energy and he would shout at everyone 'come on boys, come on lads, let's f****** destroy them'.

"The other players would get involved as well, all pretty standard stuff when you are playing a rival, Wayne Rooney, Giggs, Scholsey and Rio Ferdinand would all say something and lift everybody in the dressing room but when you stepped on the pitch, that was where you needed to perform and not forget what was just said in the dressing room.

"Sometimes if the game wasn't going our way, it wasn't going as expected you couldn't forget what was said in the dressing room, how ambitious and motivated we all were so you would try to carry that onto the pitch for the whole 90 minutes."

Berbatov said his own personal preparation was different and said he didn't need the motivation of others, even before a Liverpool game.

He added: "I would also prepare in my own way and I would tell myself 'Berba you go out there and give it everything you f****** can'.

"This was my own motivation, I didn't need anyone to motivate me, I would do it in my own way.

"But when you are out on the pitch and see Gary Neville running his f****** b******* off on the right side, Scholsey controlling the midfield and Rooney running like crazy, it is extra motivation, you say to yourself 'you better f****** be like them or even better or you're in trouble."