Steve McManaman does not lack self-belief, but as the latest 'saviour' of English football he is entitled to a degree of perspective against Ukraine.

It is not just hooliganism, the other English disease is the nation's collective propensity to expect the moon from the latest flavour of the month and then castigate him when all he delivers is a few meteorites.

McManaman's sudden elevation to messiah status on the back of his recent displays for Real Madrid ensure that he will be the centre of attention at Wembley.

Kevin Keegan's disclosure that he will unshackle McManaman by handing him a free role between the strikers and the midfield, hoping the genie will come out of the bottle, will not lessen that mood of expectation.

Keegan said: 'I think Steve has earned the right to have a chance at this level. I have always compromised him before. I've made no secret of that, and I still think at some time in Euro 2000 I might have to do it again.

'But against Ukraine I'm going to say to him "have a go and do what you've been doing in the last six or eight weeks in the rest of Europe.î '

McManaman's Champions League run with Real has seen him metamorphosed in his England absence into the man who can add the sheen to Keegan's side.

That feeling intensified when he scored the killer second goal against Valencia in Real's 3-0 Final victory in the Stade de France, despite his previous failures to take command on the England stage.

Keegan accepted that by previously asking McManaman to operate on the left flank, he has hamstrung the former Liverpool man. 'I think it takes something away from somebody like him, a free spirit, to stick him out wide left,' said the England coach.

'I still think he can do it. He has enough ability and he's clever enough. He can play anywhere, because of the things he can do with the ball. When he starts to run at people, and use that tremendous energy he's got, he frightens defenders.

'He can do whatever he wants at Wembley. I'm not going to nail him down. The team won't be built around Steve but it will be built in a way that he can express himself. I don't think we've given him that right before. I've told him 'go where you want; do what you want'.î

It was a clear statement of faith on Keegan's behalf, a clarion call even as the coach suggested the biggest question marks might lie within the player's own mind.

The facts are that in 26 England appearances, McManaman's two goals were both against Luxembourg last September. Against the Ukraine, though, he will be given his head as Keegan reverts to three at the back.

Keegan added: 'Steve has still got something to prove to himself at this level. Not to anybody else. I'm saying to him: "Go on Steve, you do it and we will fit in the things we need to do to accommodate you in that positionî.'

Yet, as McManaman rather shyly conceded an awareness of the spotlight trained on him - 'Thanks very much for all that,' he said, with more than a trace of irony - the need for a sensible appraisal of his display was all the greater.

It would be wrong to judge McManaman a success or failure merely on the basis of whether he runs at the Ukrainian back-line and causes problems.

Much of his success at Madrid has been in his capacity to link up play, to keep the ball moving. Of course, he does not have Raul or Fernando Morientes alongside him against the Ukraine, but he does have David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Robbie Fowler.

If the ball circulation can be achieved, in tandem with the running power he has at his disposal, England can prosper and McManaman can thrive, yet he should not be shouldered with too great a burden.

There seemed an understandably deliberate attempt by him to downplay those demands on Tuesday. 'I'm happy just to play a role, any role, whether it be left, front or right,' he said.

'Anywhere, just a hard-working role. I don't want this cavalier attitude where we run everywhere, if it means conceding goals. My one objective is for England to win, no matter how we play. If we win and it's not too pretty, it doesn't really matter.'

He added: 'I think I suffer from the perception that all I play is a free role. If it has happened, it's been in a three-man midfield where we have worked very hard for each other and I've been the one who pushed further forward.

'It was freedom with limitations. You still have your job to do, your players to pick up and you can't afford to run here, there and everywhere.

'I've played all over the place this season. In the last few games, where I've played deeper, I've had more attention because we were playing Manchester United and Bayern Munich.'

The attention will be all the greater at Wembley. Keegan will be keen to see his side pass the ball better than they did against Brazil on Saturday, and keep Beckham involved all match.

'We've got to get more ball to David,' said Keegan. 'It's not exactly the same as United and even if you put Gary Neville behind him, as we did on Saturday, you can't just assume we're going to get the ball to him like United do.

'The beauty of him is that even if you don't get him on the ball a lot, he can win you matches. But we want him on the ball giving crosses in open play. He's an exceptional player.'

Returning to the system used against Argentina in February should facilitate that supply, although it would serve to cloud the issue of formation in Keegan's mind.

Whether that would be a problem Keegan might welcome is another matter, although he noted: 'It would be folly to go into a tournament thinking we're going to play this way or that way. We don't have replica players or clones.

'Ukraine are a top-class team. The way they rely on Sergei Rebrov and Andriy Shevchenko sometimes underestimates what the rest of the team is about.'

England need to build on the foundations laid down against Argentina and Brazil in their final home match before they play Portugal in Eindhoven on June 12.

Michael Owen and Dennis Wise miss out as precautions and in giving likely chances to Nigel Martyn and Fowler and handing Steve Gerrard the keys to the midfield holding role on his debut, Keegan is attempting to balance experimentation with the need to learn lessons that can prove beneficial over the next few weeks.

Defensively, Shevchenko and Rebrov - £29million-worth of strikers between them with the confirmation that Rebrov will be joining Spurs next season - will provide a different test to Franca and Amoroso, but no less a demanding one.

McManaman has the opportunity to play himself into that side. But he does not have to light up Wembley to claim that place. A comforting glow would be a start.