ANDY GRAY COLUMN: It's hard but you have to accept it Becks

andy.gray@sundaymirror.co.ukA SERIOUSLY unhappy David Beckham will almost certainly be polishing his backside on the subs' bench again today, fuelling more speculation about his future at Manchester United.

The lad has just been voted the second best player in the world, he is England captain, and yet he can't get into the United starting line-up. So what is going on?

It's possible Sir Alex Ferguson is being vindictive to prove once again that there is only one king of the Old Trafford Castle.

He might have decided that because Beckham has not signed a new deal he should favour players who have committed their long-term future to United.

It doesn't make much sense to alienate one of your best players if that is the case but Fergie couldn't care less what other people think as long as United are winning - and at the moment the results speak for themselves.

The other theory is that Beckham is simply paying the price for a dip in form. A few weeks ago I thought Fergie was right to rest the England skipper because he had a slight back injury.

But now he is fully fit I can't understand why he is not getting more of a chance to get back to his best. It's a bit unfair on the lad because he can't prove anything on the bench.

I still believe United's best midfield contains Giggs on the left and Beckham on the right. When those two are missing the lack of width is blatantly obvious.

If Beckham was playing well I would find it hard to pick Nicky Butt ahead of him.

Whatever the reason for David's isolation, he must stay calm and wait for the chance to re-establish himself because it will come.

Some of the worst decisions are made in the heat of the moment. If David has thought about leaving United because Fergie has dropped him, he should think again. Beckham will never beat the manager so he has to take this on the chin. My biggest fear is that his patience runs out and he makes the biggest mistake of his life - leaving United.

If his advisers start making that sort of suggestion he should ignore them. That club is made for him and he has everything he needs there.

For him to go to Italy or Spain would be wrong at this stage of his career. Maybe one day it would do him good to try his luck abroad but for the moment he should stick with a club and country I know he loves.

He has 18 months of his contract left and despite what he might think now he is still a vital part of United's first-team plans.

United will want to wrap up his new contract talks as soon as possible but Beckham can afford to wait. If in six months' time a new deal has still not been agreed he can hang around for another year and the club might end up getting nothing at all for him. You wouldn't expect them to let that happen but they might have no option. There's nothing in the transfer rules to say a player has to leave because his club wants to sell him - even if it is for 40m or more.

It's hard to stomach being left on the sidelines, but it happens to all players. I know because I have been there. I was absolutely pig sick. It was Everton's championship-winning season and I busted a bone in my foot.

I was out for six weeks but when I got fit I sat on the bench for 13 games and watched Adrian Heath and Graeme Sharp form the best partnership in the country and Everton romped to the top.

It is bloody hard to accept. But I stuck in there, bit my lip and eventually got back into the team.

I expected David to hold down his place in the side after he started against Fulham. So I was surprised when he was dropped again. Maybe it was payback because he played a major part in Fulham's second goal by allowing Rufus Brevett to run in behind him and Ferguson notices these things.

And when you have the winning combination of Veron, Keane, Butt and Scholes available for selection you have a big decision as a manager to make: who do you leave out? It's how good you are on the day, not who you are!

Ferguson has to balance getting Beckham playing as well as we all know he can with keeping his team in the championship race.

The fact remains that while a fit Beckham is not playing, questions will continue to be asked about his future.

Would Fergie be bloody minded enough to say to the board: "Let's sell David Beckham"?

He might be - but I just don't see the board agreeing, particularly as Sir Alex is retiring at the end of this season.

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