Ferdinand desperate for league success

Rio Ferdinand says he wants another English Premier League title in order to maintain bragging rights over Manchester United’s city rivals.

Manchester City, who are eyeing their first top-flight title since 1967/68, are just a point behind United with nine league games remaining.

Ferdinand, 33, said he was keen for United to win the title and remain the best team in Manchester for at least another season.

“Walking around in town, you see more and more blue shirts than you probably ever would have seen over the last 10 years,” Ferdinand told reporters.

“But success sometimes brings people out of the woodwork, so fingers crossed, we can delay that and make sure that we get this title sewn up this season.”

Talk around the city centres around the Manchester derby, to be played on April 30 – just three games from the end of the season – as the deciding factor in this year’s title race.

Asked whether it will all come down to the clash at the Etihad Stadium, Ferdinand said: “Who knows? We’ll have to wait and see, but in an ideal world, we’ll have it sewn up by the time we go there.

“I don’t expect it to be finished by the time we go their stadium. Every game is a cup final now and every result now is going to sway the title this way or that.”