Rude awakening for Rio

Rio Ferdinand believes Manchester United's 4-1 humbling by Liverpool could prove to be positive for the club. The Red Devils slipped to the shock result during a rare off-day at Old Trafford on Saturday. United had swept all before them heading into the crunch contest, with an unprecedented quintuple still on the cards. They continue to lead the race for the Premier League title by four points, with a game in hand, despite the weekend setback and could yet rewrite the history books. Ferdinand is certainly refusing to read too much into the Liverpool result and believes it could actually work in United's favour. "We have got a rude awakening," admitted the England international. "None of us has been taking anything for granted but subconsciously there may have been complacency. Rivalry "Losing any game is disappointing but losing to a team who we have such a big rivalry with is even worse. And the scoreline takes it beyond that. "It is very hard to take." Ferdinand is adamant United will bounce back and has warned next weekend's opponents Fulham that they could find themselves on the receiving end of a backlash. "It would be nice if there was a game around the corner," he said. "But results like this can be turned into a positive. Any complacency that was there will have torn out of us. "At least we are still a good position even if it doesn't soften the blow. "Now we have to dust ourselves down and get our minds right for the game at Fulham next week, when we will hopefully get ourselves back on track."

Source: SKY_Sports