Dunphy will be key witness for Keane

Roy Keane will face a Football Association disciplinary committee in Bolton today to answer two charges relating to comments made about the Manchester City player Alfie Inge Haaland in his recently released autobiography.

However, Haaland will not, after all, be appearing at the Reebok Stadium to speak in defence of Keane. Bizarrely, it had been suggested that Haaland would be called as one of the Manchester United captain's witnesses, following comments on his website saying that Keane was not to blame for the injury sustained in an infamous clash between the pair at Old Trafford in April last year. Instead, the key witness for Keane's defence will be Eamonn Dunphy, the ghostwriter of his controversial autobiography.

Following publication of the book, Keane is charged with setting out to injure Haaland deliberately and with bringing the game into disrepute. Keane was sent off for a challenge on Haaland which caught the Norwegian just below the knee and sent him spinning into the air.

In the book Keane states: "I'd waited almost 180 minutes for Alfie. I'd waited long enough. I hit him hard. The ball was there [I think]. Take that."

Haaland has not played a full match since and is considering legal action against Keane for exacerbating a long-standing problem with his other leg.

It is thought that Keane will attempt to defend himself against the dual charge by claiming he has never deliberately set out to injure any player, and that his actual words were subject to the "creative licence" of Dunphy.

If found guilty on either or both counts by a three-man FA tribunal, Keane could face a lengthy ban ­ up to eight matches ­ plus a substantial fine.

It is believed the case will be concluded today but with prominent Queen's Counsel acting for both sides, the possibility exists that it may over-run. Even then, it might not be the end of the matter, with Keane having the fall-back of an appeal should the verdict go against him.

The Wolverhampton Wanderers chief executive, Jez Moxey, has assured the manager Dave Jones that his job is safe. "We have every confidence in Dave Jones and the backroom team to do the jobs they have to do," Moxey said. "We've dug ourselves into a hole and we need to dig ourselves out." Wolves have lost five of their last six League games.

Leicester City supporters are urging the club's players to take a pay cut to help the Foxes out of their financial crisis. With Leicester thought to be £30m in debt, the directors last week asked the players to defer their pay until a time when the club is financially stable. The players rejected the idea. However, two local polls showed more than 90 per cent of fans urging the players to accept the cuts.