Rio Ferdinand has given a fascinating insight into David Moyes' underwhelming 10-month reign as Manchester United manager, featuring a story from a tour to Asia.
Moyes was chosen by Sir Alex Ferguson to succeed him after the legendary manager retired following a trophy-laden 26-year reign that featured 13 Premier League titles and two European cups.
But his fellow Scot won just 27 games out of a possible 51 and, after they failed to secure Champions League football for the first time in 19 years, he was sacked in April 2014.
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Moyes previously spoke about his time at United in an interview last year.
And now, former United defender Rio Ferdinand has detailed what was going on behind the scenes as the former Everton boss tried to make his stamp on the squad.
Speaking on the latest episode of Stick to Football – brought to you by Sky Bet – Ferdinand recalled a moment from a pre-season tour of Thailand, Australia and Japan in the summer of 2013.
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He said: “One of the moments after Sir Alex Ferguson left, I remember getting on the plane, you know what those tours were like, I think we went to Asia. Tiring weren’t they, they were tiring, long, two weeks. Hard work, time-difference et cetera.
"I remember getting on the plane on the way home and seeing David Moyes sprawled out on the chair – looked disheveled. ‘Big club this,’– that’s what he said to me. And I thought, ‘oo’.
"I’ve said this before, but like a kit launch at Everton is at Goodison [Park], on the pitch, no disrespect. But a kit launch at United is like a worldwide tour – it’s very different.
"So, he quickly grasped this at the end tour and I thought, ok, I’d liked to have thought he’d have known that before."
Ferdinand also spoke about their pre-match preparations under Moyes ahead of some big games.
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“We play against Liverpool and Chelsea, I remember in the training sessions, we were setting up to stop [Eden] Hazard and [Philippe] Coutinho. And he put a box in the middle of pitch – or in the area they play in, on the inside left," he explained.
"The players were looking at each other like, ‘we don’t really set up to stop individuals’, never done that at United, don’t know if you guys remember anything like that. [Lionel] Messi, didn’t even have a big plan for him – should have.
“It was almost like that mindset of you’ve got to worry about us, more than we’ve got to worry about you. The two games really made me think we are setting up almost like a defeatist mentality and very different to what title winning team was last season.
"So, it was a very big shift in the mindset, and that was one of the things a lot of the players were, not against him, but just it gives you a question mark in your head, and that little question mark is a big thing within a squad.”
The former United centre-back went on to detail a conversation he had with Sir Alex Ferguson during those uncertain times.
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He added: “I went and saw the gaffer [Ferguson] around Christmas time for a coffee, he asked to see me – just asking ‘what’s going on?’
"And I was like – it’s not going [well] – we are not winning games; you know what I mean so you just say what’s on the tin. But the gaffer obviously wanted him to do well, the way he spoke to me was like, he was gutted with the way things were panning out.
“So, I felt sorry for David Moyes, I think anyone who came in there had an impossible job.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty ImagesTopics: David Moyes, Manchester United, Rio Ferdinand