Rio Ferdinand will never be content with his massive medal collection.
Ferdinand is about to embark on his 12th season at Manchester United, knowing his testimonial against Sevilla on August 9 will be the first game of the David Moyes era to be played at Old Trafford. With six Premier League titles, a Champions League and two League Cups to look back on after 432 appearances for the Red Devils, Ferdinand has every reason to be satisfied with himself.
He is not though - not when he shares the same dressing room as Ryan Giggs. "I'm not happy with what I have won, not when I can look around at people in the changing room and know they have got more than me," he said.
"You always aim for the people above. That is what I did the day I walked through the door. I looked around and saw people with three, four, five titles and thought 'I want to have that'. You set yourself targets all the time. I am never going to sit in that changing room and think 'I am happy with what I have done'."
With Paul Scholes now retired, Ferdinand only trails Giggs in the medal stakes. Yet there are plenty just behind, including Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick, who have all been involved in the last five title-winning campaigns.
Even Jonny Evans has three, underlining the vast disparity in trophies between the United players and their new manager.
Yet rather than intimidate Moyes, Ferdinand feels it will be an advantage to the Scot, who must navigate a particularly difficult start to the campaign whilst getting to grips with what many view as the impossible task of replacing Sir Alex Ferguson.
"The new manager is going to want to put his own imprint on the team. That is what you would expect as players. We are open-minded to that," he said.
"But hopefully the fact he has got people in there who know how to get the job done will give him a little bit of time. The team can be on auto-pilot, with the manager just tinkering with things to make sure it is done in the right way.
"If we need to change tactics, that is when the manager comes into his own, with whatever training methods he wants to use. In terms of going out on a Saturday and getting games won, a lot of us have been doing it for years. That is why we have been here for so long and won so many things."
Source: PA
