IT was the morning after the night before.

The triumphant chants of Manchester United fans still echoed in the air as hungover commuters dodged between street cleaners and crawled into work on a bed of discarded ticker tape.

Manchester was still sobering up after welcoming back Alex Ferguson's treble winners with the biggest party the city had ever seen.

But one man cut through the waves of euphoria with more purpose than most that particularly Friday morning.

After days of soul-searching, it was D-day for Dave Fevre as he approached Manchester United's training ground with the ink barely dry on his resignation speech.

For the last five years, he had occupied the physio's room on the same corridor as Alex Ferguson's office at The Cliff.

Now, he was preparing to enter the United manager's bunker to drop the bombshell that he was handing in his notice.

"It was the hardest meeting I've ever had with Alex," said Fevre.

"The night before I'd been to a dinner where United were given 25 Champions League medals and I was fortunate enough to get the 25th.

"But, as I was walking up to collect it, I was thinking to myself that I had to make a decision on whether or not to leave within the next 24 hours.

"It felt really strange.

"I don't think Alex could understand why I wanted to go when I told him the next day."

It wasn't just Ferguson who found Fevre's decision hard to fathom.

His phone has been red-hot since as people keep asking him the same question - why has he swapped United's treble winners for a place in the Nationwide League with Rovers?

A long-standing friendship with Brian Kidd is one of the major factors.

But it's the opportunity to improve himself as a physio which proved the biggest draw.

By his own admission, physiotherapy and the rehabilitation of injured players has become his life.

And, whether it's on a beach in Florida or on a pre-season tour to Aberdeen, Fevre is always looking at new ways of pushing back the boundaries of his profession.

Originally, he had always wanted to become a PE teacher but didn't get the grades to get into Loughbrough.

So he trained to become a physio instead at Salford School of Physiotherapy and started working for the NHS at the age of 22.

He first broke into sport as a physio for Leigh Rugby League club under Alex Murphy.

And he then moved onto the international scene working with the Great Britain Rugby League side.

From Leigh, he moved on to Wigan under John Monie before joining United in 1994.

But, with fixture congestion an increasing problem at United, he felt he wouldn't have time to expand his knowledge in the field any further.

So he opted to join Rovers after seeing an advert in a national newspaper. "I want to do a PhD next year and Alex said he'd be able to accommodate that.

"But, come November, when they're playing Juventus on a Wednesday night and he's got five injured players and I'm going to university, he's not going to be so keen on me disappearing at two in the afternoon.

"It's a big wrench to leave but I've made the decision on professional and personal grounds.

"I want to keep pushing myself and improve myself as a physio. Look at Peter Schmeichel, for example. He's getting out at the top.

"And, when I chatted to Peter about my decision to join Blackburn, he said 'Go for it, because life's all about new challenges.'

"The physio world isn't about success on the pitch, it's about what I can learn to help players out injury-wise.

"Everywhere I go, I tend to make it a working holiday.

"I was watching a two-on-two volleyball match in Florida recently and wondered how I could use that in rehab.

"And, in Orlando, they've just started a new women's basketball team so I went to have a look at the facilities over there.

"I'm always looking at new angles wherever I go and I hope to introduce some of these down at Brockhall."

Fevre's incessant quest for innovation played an instrumental part in the design of United's new £12 million training ground, set to open at Carrington in October. Those facilities, which are widely being touted as the best in Europe, include a hydrotherapy pool based on one he saw in a trip to Aberdeen which was used on the oil-rigs.

And he's looking to make a similar impact at Brockhall where he's already had some building work done, including the installation of a sandpit.

A disastrous run of injuries last season cost Rovers their place in the Premier League.

Fevre will do his utmost to ensure there is no repeat, starting by nursing Kidd's current crocks back to full fitness.

"Half a dozen players have had problems which I need to get into straight away.

"I've already been down a few times to see what we can do so, hopefully, by the start of the season, we'll be pretty much back at full strength."

The reward of rescuing a player's career is where Fevre gets his buzz.

During his time at Old Trafford, he's helped save the likes of Gary Pallister and Terry Cooke from the jaws of the knackers' yard. But helping resurrect the career of Roy Keane has been his biggest coup so far.

Two seasons ago, the tough-tackling Irishman snapped his cruciate ligament in a typically robust challenge.

Fevre was charged with the task of bringing him back down the long road to fitness.

"It was a great challenge because a lot of people thought it would be hard work for Roy.

"But I worked hard with him and he worked hard with me in return.

"We had a few fights along the way but, at the end of the day, we both respected each other's opinion.

"And I feel as though his success last year was hopefully, to a certain extent, down to the medical people who helped him out.

"I only called one player when I decided to leave United and that was Keano because we'd been through so much together.

"When players are injured they're like pieces of meat - the coaching staff don't want to know. That's not being selfish. The manager has simply got to concentrate on picking his best 11 from what he's got left.

"It's our job then to pick up the pieces."

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