Man Utd’s Ferdinand: We’re as good as anyone in Europe

Ferdinand told the News of the World: “Pound for pound we are as good as anything in Europe but as a collective team, we have not performed to our capabilities.

“That’s the difference between being a great team and a nearly team.

“I can look in every corner of that dressing room before a game and say, yeah I’m happy to be out on the pitch with him. I know he is going to give his all for me every minute he is out there.

“We all know what happened at the World Cup – we lost another penalty shoot-out in the quarter-finals.

“But I can’t put my finger on why we didn’t perform.

“How do we change it? It’s the million dollar question. The answer should come from the England manager.

“But the players have to take some of the responsibility as well.

“It’s weird because you watch Match of the Day and see players week in, week out doing unbelievable world-class things for their clubs but, when we come to England, sometimes it doesn’t work out.”