Source: Manchester_EveningNews
Rio: Reds on the up
UNITED defender Rio Ferdinand reckons the Reds showed "glimpses of improvement" desite their defeat on penalties to Bayern Munich in the final of the Audi Cup on Thursday night. United matched their hosts inside a packed Allianz Arena and were unfortunate not to come away with a win after Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney both squandered chances in the second half of a goalless 90 minutes. The Reds then lost the shoot-out 7-6. But Ferdinand insists the result will not knock United off course as they aim to hit their peak for August 16 when they host Birmingham at Old Trafford. "I think we showed glimpses of improvement," he said. "I think the Asia tour has been a very good workout for us physically and today and yesterday were a step up in class in opposition. "Physically, we are on the road to getting where we want to be for the beginning of the season. "I think Asia was a long tour for us physically," he said. "We were very tired after that. Training "We now get a couple of days off and then we get back to training and working hard, but we are on the right road." Meanwhile, Ferdinand believes the club can use their experience of rebuilding to cope with the loss of star men Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. The pair both left United this summer, for Real Madrid and City respectively, but Ferdinand has seen plenty of big name players come and go in his eight years at Old Trafford and expects the Reds to move on quickly. "I think that's inevitable," he said. "When you lose any players, your team plays differently no matter who you lose. "We lost two very good players in Cristiano and Carlos, but Manchester United is a club that moves on and has remained a successful side. "We have done that in recent years when we lost players of the ilk of David Beckham and Roy Keane, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Veron and players like that. "People thought we would fall by the wayside but it didn't happen." Antonio Valencia has arrived from Wigan and he has been earmarked as the man to step into the large boots left by Ronaldo and Ferdinand believes Sir Alex Ferguson has invested his money wisely in the Ecuadorian. He said: "I think he will do very well this season. Antonio looks like he is going to be a good buy for us." What is your verdict on the Reds' pre-season form? Have your say. [LNB]
