'He took that as a disrespect' - Rio Ferdinand explains why Man United struggled under David Moyes

Rio Ferdinand has opened up on David Moyes' tenure as Manchester United manager.

The long-standing Everton boss faced the daunting task of replacing the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013. Moyes’ stay at Old Trafford was brief, lasting until April after the reigning Premier League champions dropped to seventh in the table.

Speaking about the 2013/14 campaign on the Stick to Football podcast, Ferdinand dismissed the rumour that Moyes urged the centre-back to copy his Everton counterpart Phil Jagielka. However, the United hero explained how Moyes’ man-management differed from Ferguson, which created an uneasy feeling for some players within the squad.

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“The little things, like do you remember what the boss [Sir Alex Ferguson] used to do, where he used to go on the Friday night at the hotel,” Ferdinand said. “Or the Saturday morning before a game, if he sat at your table, you knew someone was being told on your table they are not playing. Or you are out the squad and you’re going to be in the stands.

“I remember David Moyes said, ‘I don’t do that – you are just not playing – whoever that is, I’m not explaining myself to anybody if you want to come see me, come see me Monday’. He was like ‘This is what I am, this is what I’m doing’ and you respect that, but sometimes it’s a squad game, and the squad wins you everything, it isn’t just the starting 11.”

“You’ve got to take care of the other guys that are on the periphery of the squad, the periphery of the team,” Ferdinand continued. “And he was like, ‘This is the way I’m doing it