The captain's armband at United will soon be Rio's and Rio's alone...
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has declared it to be only a matter of time until Rio Ferdinand officially inherits the captain's armband at Old Trafford.
Ferdinand, 30, has displayed commendable leadership skills in the past couple of seasons especially for the Red Devils, which, as Sir Alex readily confessed, was did not always look to be in his cards when he arrived as an at times all too cool youngster from Leeds United in the summer of 2002.
"When players first come to the club you don't know enough about them [to see whether they're captain material], it's only in the last few years that I've seen that with Rio," Ferguson explained on the club's official website.
"He had a casualness about him when he first joined as a young lad which sometimes frustrated you, but he's matured and has a great strength of character.
"He's a good leader now and I think he will be our captain when Neville and Giggs hang their boots up."
Ferdinand was sent back to Old Trafford by England coach Fabio Capello with an injury, but Sir Alex has elevated his status from doubtful to probable for tonight's big game against Aston Villa.
"He didn't train on Friday, but we hope he will on Saturday," said the United chief. "He's got a good chance for Sunday, although if he does play he may be struggling by Tuesday [against Porto in the Champions League]. However, the important thing is to get him ready for Sunday."
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has declared it to be only a matter of time until Rio Ferdinand officially inherits the captain's armband at Old Trafford.
Ferdinand, 30, has displayed commendable leadership skills in the past couple of seasons especially for the Red Devils, which, as Sir Alex readily confessed, was did not always look to be in his cards when he arrived as an at times all too cool youngster from Leeds United in the summer of 2002.
"When players first come to the club you don't know enough about them [to see whether they're captain material], it's only in the last few years that I've seen that with Rio," Ferguson explained on the club's official website.
"He had a casualness about him when he first joined as a young lad which sometimes frustrated you, but he's matured and has a great strength of character.
"He's a good leader now and I think he will be our captain when Neville and Giggs hang their boots up."
Ferdinand was sent back to Old Trafford by England coach Fabio Capello with an injury, but Sir Alex has elevated his status from doubtful to probable for tonight's big game against Aston Villa.
"He didn't train on Friday, but we hope he will on Saturday," said the United chief. "He's got a good chance for Sunday, although if he does play he may be struggling by Tuesday [against Porto in the Champions League]. However, the important thing is to get him ready for Sunday."
