Rio Ferdinand says Manchester United can use their Champions League final defeat to raise their performance levels for the new season.
Despite losing 2-0 to Barcelona in Rome, the England defender feels the Premier League champions had a successful season and is ready for the new campaign, beginning with a game against Alex Mcleish's newly promoted Birmingham City at Old Trafford on Sunday.
'It’s always difficult when you lose but it’s especially disappointing to lose the biggest game of the season,' said Ferdinand.
'But we can take heart in the fact that we’ve been in back-to-back finals. Not many clubs have ever done that in the Champions League,' he added.
Manchester United won their third successive league title last season along with the Carling Cup and World Club Cup, and although they failed to retain their Champions League crown, Ferdinand believes the club should be proud of what they achieved.
'One game doesn’t define a season,' the 29-year-old said.
'We did have a successful season.
'We won the league, we won the Club World Cup, the Community Shield, the Carling Cup, and we got to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the Champions League. I think if you’d offered us that at the start of the season we would have snapped your hand off,' he added.
There have been major changes at Old Trafford during the summer, with Cristiano Ronaldo leaving for Real Madrid and Carlos Tevez crossing the city to join Mark Hughes' Manchester City.
However, Ferdinand says standards won't drop and admits Manchester may need to improve on last season's performances in order to retain their title for an unprecedented fourth successive year.
'We take pride in [last season's achievements] but we also know that there’s room for improvement in a few areas,' he said.
'So if we’re to be successful again this season - in all competitions – we need to remember how important it is that we’re on top of our game every time we walk out onto the pitch,' he added.
Despite losing 2-0 to Barcelona in Rome, the England defender feels the Premier League champions had a successful season and is ready for the new campaign, beginning with a game against Alex Mcleish's newly promoted Birmingham City at Old Trafford on Sunday.
'It’s always difficult when you lose but it’s especially disappointing to lose the biggest game of the season,' said Ferdinand.
'But we can take heart in the fact that we’ve been in back-to-back finals. Not many clubs have ever done that in the Champions League,' he added.
Manchester United won their third successive league title last season along with the Carling Cup and World Club Cup, and although they failed to retain their Champions League crown, Ferdinand believes the club should be proud of what they achieved.
'One game doesn’t define a season,' the 29-year-old said.
'We did have a successful season.
'We won the league, we won the Club World Cup, the Community Shield, the Carling Cup, and we got to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the Champions League. I think if you’d offered us that at the start of the season we would have snapped your hand off,' he added.
There have been major changes at Old Trafford during the summer, with Cristiano Ronaldo leaving for Real Madrid and Carlos Tevez crossing the city to join Mark Hughes' Manchester City.
However, Ferdinand says standards won't drop and admits Manchester may need to improve on last season's performances in order to retain their title for an unprecedented fourth successive year.
'We take pride in [last season's achievements] but we also know that there’s room for improvement in a few areas,' he said.
'So if we’re to be successful again this season - in all competitions – we need to remember how important it is that we’re on top of our game every time we walk out onto the pitch,' he added.
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