Source: Team_Talk
Rio delighted with United return
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was delighted to make his first appearance of the season against Rangers on Tuesday night.[LNB] The England skipper was pleased to have completed the full 90 minutes for Sir Alex Ferguson's side as the SPL champions went away from Old Trafford with a valuable point following a goalless draw.[LNB]Although Ferdinand was disappointed with the result, the defender was glad to have played the whole match.[LNB]It was the first time since the end of May that the 31-year-old had clocked up 90 minutes - when he played in England's World Cup warm-up against Japan.[LNB]And despite the goalless draw, Ferdinand was pleased to have been given the opportunity to play the entire game.[LNB]He told the club's official website: "It was nice to be back, playing football. I've waited a long time."[LNB]Ferguson made 10 changes to the starting line-up against the Glasgow giants, however, Ferdinand feels the changes may prove more beneficial in the long term.[LNB]"It's a squad game and the manager wants to give players minutes on the pitch," he said.[LNB]"There are people who haven't played many games - myself included - so we're obviously delighted with the changes.[LNB]"But the manager makes changes most weeks and it's never a problem."[LNB]Meanwhile, Chris Smalling was delighted to gain some Champions League experience after making his full competitive debut for the club.[LNB]The former Fulham defender enjoyed every minute of his run-out despite the result, saying: "It's one of the biggest competitions a player can play in and I thoroughly enjoyed it.[LNB]"I've watched so many of these games on television so to be part of one at a club like United is fantastic.[LNB]"Unfortunately, we just couldn't break them down and everyone is disappointed with the result.[LNB]"The next game against Valencia (on September 29) is going to be very important now.[LNB]"Hopefully we can move on quickly from this result, take the positives from it and score a few more goals in our next few games."
