Ferdinand unfazed by England speculation

Rio Ferdinand is concentrating solely on his commitments to Manchester United despite speculation linking him with an England recall.

The 33-year-old defender missed out on a place at Euro 2012 after Roy Hodgson chose to drop the former West Ham man due to ‘footballing reasons’.

But, following John Terry announcing his retirement from international duty on Sunday, the door on a return to the England set-up appears to have reopened.

Ferdinand, however, admittted his main focus lies with United and securing the Premier League title.

“Personal performances and accolades come way down the list when you are winning at places like Anfield,” Ferdinand said.

“I have always said I just want a consistent run of games. At the moment that is what I am doing and I am really happy.”

With the likes of Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Nemanja Vidic all ruled out for the foreseeable future, Ferdinand has praised fellow defender Rafael for stepping up.

The Brazil international drew his side level against Liverpool with a fine curling effort from inside the area, and Ferdinand said he sees a lot of himself in the 22-year-old.

“Rafa is his own worst critic,” he said. “He is emotional and sometimes when he makes a mistake he has to make up for it immediately. That comes out in his game at times.

“When I was his age I was a lot like that. I used to be more interested in what was happening in the attacking part of the game and further up the pitch than defensive play.

“I realised it when I went to Leeds at 22. I was more of a maverick under Harry Redknapp at West Ham and when I went to Leeds, David O’Leary pulled the reins in and made me think about my defensive duties first.

“He said everything else would come naturally. I speak to Rafa about it similarly and he’s a quick learner.”