Rio Loving Life On The Road

Rio Ferdinand feels the dogged professionalism which spawned United's victory at Tottenham has been a hallmark of the Reds' entire season away from Old Trafford.

Sunday's 3-1 triumph at White Hart Lane cemented United's status as the Barclays Premier League's leading team away from home, with 10 wins from 14 games. That total has already doubled last season's haul, and Ferdinand feels improved focus explains the upsurge in rewards.

"Last year, I don't know what it was," the defender told MUTV. "It could have been complacency, expecting to win games whereas at the moment we're being very professional.

"We're hard to break down, hard to beat and we know that we've got players on the break who can beat anybody. [White Hart Lane] is a tough place to come. Spurs are a team with talented players.

"We've had that over the years; we've never had an easy win here. We knew we had to work hard and they made us work hard for the win."

Ferdinand reprised his impressive central defensive partnership with Jonny Evans against Harry Redknapp's side, but he felt that the Reds' collective diligence laid the foundations for victory.

"You've got to make sure you defend well if you're going to come away with anything," he said. "Jonny played really well again, and I thought the whole team defended well, to be honest."

And, after another impressive contribution from goalkeeper David De Gea, Ferdinand saluted his young team-mate's desire to better himself after a slow-burning first campaign with the Reds.

"David De Gea's made some good strides in goal," said the defender. "He's learning, he wants to be a better 'keeper and wants to improve, and that's vital in a young player's make-up."