Rio: We Had to Win

Manchester United's victory over Portsmouth on Monday was met with relief by Rio Ferdinand who said last night the Premier League champions are determined not to play catch-up for a second consecutive season.

"I'm sure there were a few people who thought we were going to drop more points against Portsmouth but from our point of view it was a case of win at all costs," said Ferdinand. "As a squad we agreed we didn't want to find ourselves in that situation again [making a slow start]. It was vital we won as many of the early games as possible. We started off with a stutter [against Newcastle] but we now have that first win, which is a relief."

United now travel to Monaco for Friday's Uefa Super Cup clash with Zenit St Petersburg within touching distance of the early domestic pacesetters, Chelsea and Liverpool. "The other teams are going to gain a game on us this weekend and some will be a few points ahead so it was important we kept any points difference to a minimum," added the England defender. "And that is what we've done."