RIO FERDINAND TELLS HOW LOSING FEELS HIM WITH FEAR

19th August 2011

By Jeremy Cross

RIO FERDINAND has revealed how losing Manchester United games leaves him scared to leave his own house.

The England star reckons he has been part of a ‘golden’ generation under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford after winning a huge haul of trophies.

But he insists bad times are just as memorable for all the wrong reasons and leave him so embarrassed he can’t bare to go out in public.

Ferdinand has won five Premier League titles and a Champions League crown but has also been on the losing side in two European Cup finals against Barcelona.

He said: “Maybe people will look back and say this was a golden period. It is certainly one of the most successful periods in the club’s history. 

“It is great to be part of it because memories of not winning things are awful.

“We won the league the first season I was here, then went three years on the bounce without winning it. 

“This place is like a morgue after losing a game. It is depressing. You don’t want to walk to the shops. You’re embarrassed walking anywhere. 

“If you want to be successful, you have to remember those feelings and hope that they don’t come back.”

Ferdinand has a torn hamstring and could be out for six weeks, while Nemanja Vidic is facing a spell on the sidelines with a calf problem.

Fergie is facing a defensive headache ahead of Monday’s visit of Tottenham but Phil Jones insists he can step up to the plate alongside England Under-21 colleague Chris Smalling.

Jones said: “We’ve done really well together with England and kept quite a few clean sheets.

“We communicate well and read each other’s game, which is a good thing to have in a partnership at the back.

“Rio and Nemanja are brilliant defenders. I’ve always watched those two play together and tried to model my game on them and copy things they do.”