Gary Neville reckons Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was right to let Carlos Tevez leave the club.

Tevez joined cross-town rivals Manchester City in the summer and has since banged in 15 goals this season.

With the Argentine striker set to return to his old stomping ground on Tuesday night to take on United in their Carling Cup semi-final tie, Neville was adamant that his manager knows what is best for the club.

He told the Daily Mirror, "I can't disagree with his [the gaffer's] decision on Tevez,

"He was a good player for us, but if the financial demands are too big then that's just the way it goes.

"Other good players have left this club in the past. It's not the first time it's happened.

"The manager over the years has made many decisions with regard to players coming and going, and he has almost always been proved correct.

"Over a period of 20 years he may have got one or two wrong, and I think he's admitted that himself, but he knows exactly what he's doing and he understands when a player's time is up.

"We have the best manager in the world at putting teams together - he's done it successfully for 20 years.

"There haven't been many people who have questioned him over the years and been proved right."

When it came to the question of the close rivalry between both Manchester clubs, the veteran skipper refused to be caught up in the talk of dominating their rivals.

He added: "I don't see the games as an opportunity to reassert our dominance over City," said Neville.

"We're quite comfortable with where we are.

"We're second in the league, we're in the Carling Cup semi-final and in the second phase of the Champions League, so we have nothing to prove.

"People might perceive that something is going on in Manchester between the two clubs, but we can't afford to get involved in that.

"We just need to concentrate on our jobs like we've always done.

"We've had battles with our rivals like Leeds and Liverpool over the years for the top honours, and we just concentrate on our own performance.

"The Carling Cup is a competition we have done well in over the past couple of years, and no doubt they will want to do well, too.

"It's a local derby and one of the biggest games we have played against City for a long time. Certainly we expect it to be a difficult game.

"They're in good form, and it's always difficult away against City. We will have to be at our best on Tuesday for the game at their ground.

"I've only seen one of City's games since Roberto Mancini took over as manager - their 3-0 victory against Wolves.

"It was a decent match and they definitely have quality in forward positions. Craig Bellamy has been playing well, as have Martin Petrov and Tevez, who was excellent against Wolves.

"City impressed me in that game, but I haven't seen a great deal of them."

A spot in the finals of the Carling Cup is at stake but one gets the feeling that the opportunity to put one over their neighbours will be the main motivation for both sides.