Rio: We'll Give Our All To Win

Rio Ferdinand explains to Inside United why he believes the Reds' qualities will shine through in the title run-in...

You spoke to IU this time last season, when you were gearing up for the title run-in. After that campaign ended in disappointment, what lessons did you learn?
Well, we were only one point off winning the league, so I don’t think we did an awful lot wrong. We just lost one or two silly games along the way, then we lost a home game against Chelsea that we didn’t deserve to lose. If we’d won that game we would have won the league. Every season – whether you win or lose – you can take something from your performances, though. Last season I don’t think we played particularly well and we weren’t consistent enough. This season we’re still not playing particularly well, but we’ve found consistency in the unbeaten run we went on. That bred confidence throughout the team. We knew we had a lot of resilience in the squad, and we always knew that if we clicked into gear during a match then we’d dispose of teams easily.

United have suffered a few defeats recently. How do you react to losing matches?
I hate it. I used to cry as a kid if I lost. I remember playing in a Metropolitan Police five-a-side tournament, and my dad had to pull me aside and have a word with me because I was shouting at all my team-mates after a loss. I even made one of them cry because I told him he wasn’t trying hard enough! It’s just the way I am. I’m the same when I’m messing about on a computer game: I always want to win and I’ve always been like that. When that feeling leaves me it’ll be time to hang up my boots.

Could you ever make Vida cry?
[Laughs] Yeah, I think so, although he doesn’t like losing either. He’s one of the players who, even at training, wants to win every time. We’re always arguing in the dressing room at Carrington after small-sided games, analysing where things went wrong and why we haven’t won.

As if to prove United’s dislike of defeat, we’ve come back in games a few times this season. What does that say about this team?
I think it proves to everyone that we have a lot of determination and desire. Teams know that when they’re playing Manchester United, games aren’t over until the referee blows the final whistle. We always play until the end, no matter how many goals we need to pull back or how many added minutes there are. That’s a philosophy that’s been here for as long as I can remember. We’ve probably won more games in the last few minutes than any other team in the league... that’s because it’s embedded in the club’s make-up.

Do you ever sense fear in opposition sides when United are chasing a game?
Yeah, definitely. If we’re behind and then we pull one back, opposition sides know we won’t be content with that. We’re never happy to equalise and then sit back and think the job’s done. We always look to win the game and because we’ve done it on so many occasions in the past, that plays on their minds. We always give absolutely everything in order to win and that comes from the manager. It’s one of the reasons I love playing for Manchester United.

Remarkably, the last time you got booked was against Liverpool in March 2009; how do you explain your incredible disciplinary record?
I think it’s down to the way I time my tackles. I never go out there to foul anybody – not that any player does; I just try to win the ball as cleanly as I can. There’s probably an element of luck in there as well, and some referees have probably been a little lenient when I could have been booked. There’s no big secret, though. The aim is to always win the ball cleanly and if you do that then you won’t be penalised. I haven’t always had a great disciplinary record. When I was a kid I got sent off for fighting when I was playing for my school team! In the classroom I wasn’t too bad – although I was a bit cheeky and talked a lot.

Many people say the remaining games against Arsenal and Chelsea will be pivotal. But there are seven other key matches that could decide where the title goes…
That’s right. Of course we want to beat Arsenal and Chelsea, but you don’t get any more points for doing that. You need to win every game and that’s the bottom line. That’s when experience comes into play, and we know that we have a lot of that here at United. We know it’s not just about those big games – we have to perform every week, against every team that we come up against.