NO doubt about it, this was all part of Alex Ferguson's master plan. It takes a stroke of genius to get the indifference that tends to follow Manchester United's forays into Europe out of the system beforehand, to provide succour to any stray Borussia Dortmund spies and to spice up the Premiership race with an element of danger which emboldens his team.

Ferguson is a shrewd man. There was even an opportunity to up the ante in the psychological game he so carefully plays with his nearest rival. First Kenny Dalglish, then Kevin Keegan and now Arsene Wenger of Arsenal, who he described as "a big club - well, they used to be." It was a brilliant touch.

Wenger, proving a worthy opponent in football's equivalent of dirty tricks, had dared to voice his concern at United's attempts to ease their increasingly congested fixture list by extending the season. For that opinion, the man the FA approached before Howard Wilkinson to become its footballing overlord was unequivocally put in his place.

"He has no experience of English football. He has come from Japan and now he is telling us how to organise our football," spluttered Ferguson. "Unless you have been in the situation and had the experience, then he should keep his mouth shut - firmly shut." When Newcastle's Keegan had betrayed his emotions in another infamous outburst on television, it was perceived as weakness; this, of course, was a roar of defiance.

The only alternative to such a machiavellian scheme is an unhappy one. For United to be so out thought and outshone by a team consumed by the threat of relegation was bad enough, a fate made even worse by the loss of three home goals - the worst of the season - four days before the first leg of their European Cup semifinal on Wednesday.

Whatever happened to United's defence? On any other day Derby's Ashley Ward would have walked away with the match ball. Not content with misdirecting one early shot wide, the one time Manchester City striker played pinball with Peter Schmeichel shortly before half time, hitting the keeper with two close range shots, before sending a third skidding on to the post.

Barely 20 minutes had gone before Derby supporters were whispering "shush", revelling in the silent acres of Old Trafford. And this in a period that United had calmly dominated: Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs and Eric Cantona all getting their heads to crosses, but all unable to find a path past one of the two County debutants, the Estonian Mart Poom in goal.

Finally, there was a point best summed up by Ward, who finally got his name on the scoresheet when he finished off a move begun by Paul Trollope and kept alive by Paulo Wanchope - thumping the ball into the ground and over the head of Peter Schmeichel.

"When there's a big game coming up, maybe a Cup final or a European match, some players are looking at not getting injured. This was a good time to catch them," said Ward.

Ferguson, like his players, offered no defence. "Our defending was terrible - absolutely shocking. I can't remember us defending as badly as that for a good few months." David May was sorely missed, a point Ferguson acknowledged readily, while Denis Irwin made only a late appearance as a second half substitute. Both can expect to start on Wednesday.

As for the two Garys, Pallister and Neville, this match at least proved Ferguson's contention that the pair were not fit enough for England seven days previously. The ease with which the gangling figure of Derby's Costa Rican. Wanchope picked up the ball near the halfway line, ambled through the entire United back four and shot low to his right, prompted the suggestion: the frightful mix up later between Pallister and Schmeichel that let in Dean Sturridge, emphasised it.

County were not without flutters. Barely a minute into the second half Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first touch was to find Cantona who brought the ball under control with his toe, shrugged off Trollope, his shadow for the afternoon, and shot with a venom born of frustration. The favour was returned a loose ball met by a stunning volley - but late, too late. Derby are all but safe. "In all honesty, I didn't think we would open them up as easily as we did," admitted Smith. "It was good."

In private, Ferguson might agree.