sport news Man United: Rio Ferdinand credits Erik ten Hag for rebuild ahead of Man City ... trends now

Rio Ferdinand is happy he no longer has to watch Manchester United games through his fingers as Erik ten Hag's side prepare for Saturday's Old Trafford derby.

The former United defender admits that some of the 'crazy s***' he has witnessed at his old club in recent years has left him on edge.

But Ferdinand has seen enough improvement under Ten Hag to give him hope that United have a chance of beating Manchester City in the 189th derby in front of the BT Sport cameras on Saturday lunchtime.

Turn Manchester red or blue by voting in @BTSportFootball's poll on Twitter ahead of the derby.

'Consistency is the key element for me: getting and remaining consistent is vital and we're starting to see that with Man United,' said Ferdinand.

'I'm now going to a game not looking through my fingers expecting crazy s*** going on. I'm going there now thinking, 'actually, you know what, I fancy us today'. 

'There isn't that panic there was before or the complete capitulation we've been seeing for a while. There is a calm edge around the team. 

'That comes from the manager and from a rebuild – rebuilding individuals which, in turn, helps the collective.

'You're seeing players growing in confidence. These were a bunch of players that were shot to pieces and he (Ten Hag) has had to build not only footballers but men back up again.

'For far too long, we were going into games thinking, 'obviously we are going to get beat here today, but I don't know by how many'. Or we were going to the likes of Brentford and conceding one and it could be three or four.

'When we have been feeling that as Man United fans, it's nice going to games not feeling like that. I'm going to this derby thinking 'we can give them a game'.

'We have got to play at our best and hope that they drop a little bit off it to win, but that is better than how I've gone into games in recent seasons. But I wouldn't get too carried away.'

Ferdinand feels that discipline has been just as important as confidence and consistency in United's revival, which has brought 11 wins in the last 12 games. 

Marcus Rashford has scored 10 goals in that sequence, but that didn't stop Ten Hag from dropping him at Wolves on New Year's Eve for oversleeping and being late for a team meeting.

'There are positive signs and discipline is a huge part of it,' added Ferdinand. 'When people have asked me over the last few years about Man Utd and what I want to see, one of them definitely is to have discipline running through the veins of the club.

'That is a real bedrock of any good football club. Discipline runs through and the players are very aware of where they stand in that. I think the fanbase will like that.

'Players are being made accountable for their actions – whether it is during 90 minutes or off the pitch and at the training ground – and I think that is a key part of any success.'

Ferdinand also praised Ten Hag for his recruitment and the way in which he has improved the squad he inherited at Old Trafford last summer.

'Over the last few years,

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