Nani made some big mistakes on Saturday and he spent all day yesterday apologising for them. In relation to his ridiculous behaviour when deciding to head-butt Lucas Neil he apologised profusely:

"I recognise that my action was a thoughtless one but I also have to say I was provoked and attacked. I know it serves as no excuse but that's exactly what happened. I regret having done what I did and I have to be thankful for the fact that my team-mates secured a win, which was extremely important to us. I want to publicly ask for forgiveness, firstly of my team-mates, who were forced into a greater effort during more than 60 minutes, then secondly of my manager and coaches and thirdly of the United fans, who have given me so much affection."

In relation to his ridiculous behaviour when deciding to leave the ground after his sending-off rather than to stick around to give his support and make his apologies, he apologised profusely:

"Believe me, it was difficult," he stated. "At that moment I only wanted to disappear. That was what I did. I also ask forgiveness of the fans and the club for that. On Tuesday, I'll be in the changing room to redeem myself for my mistake."

I don't think I have heard a player grovel quite this much before. Of course, he now misses the crucial Premiership decider at Wigan this weekend and although he is not banned from the Champions League final, he may well have seriously damaged his chances of making an appearance in that game.

Sir Alex is not in the habit of forgiving players that he feels have let him down. Make no mistake about it, he feels very let down by Nani at the moment.

The question is whether Nani's apologetic ramblings yesterday have repaired the damage he has done. I suspect they might not have done. The one thing he should most definitely have apologised for was the one thing he failed to mention.

Football fans all over the country deserve an unreserved apology for the pathetic fall to floor he took, clutching his head, when he realised what he had done and what was going to happen to him. Even Didier Drogba would have apologised for that one!