• Premier League

Vidic appeals for a United front

Nemanja Vidic has called for a united front after Rio Ferdinand criticised David Moyes © Getty Images

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Nemanja Vidic has warned his Manchester United teammates they need to stick together after David Moyes' managerial methods were questioned by Rio Ferdinand.

United are ninth in the table and 12 points adrift of leaders Arsenal heading into their Saturday lunchtime kick-off against Newcastle at Old Trafford, following a midweek defeat to Everton.

On Friday, United defender Ferdinand criticised Moyes by claiming his propensity to name his team late "turns you into a mad man".

"This manager is a bit different in that he doesn't name the team beforehand, you don't get to know the team," Ferdinand told BT Sport.

"The old manager used to give you a little bit of an idea if you were playing. When you know you're playing the intensity goes up a little bit.

"That's what you've got to try and do even if you're not sure if you're playing. It's hard to do mentally. You spend a lot of nervous energy thinking 'am I playing, am I not playing'. Keep just going round in circles in your head, enough to turn you into a mad man."

However Vidic has called on the United squad to close ranks. "I always believe in the squad we have and the work we do. There is no question about that," he told MUTV.

"We have to accept we are not in the position we want and it's obviously not the best feeling in the world. All the players realise we have to stick together, have to perform better and start winning games. Doing that will raise the confidence and everything will get better.

"We cannot look back. We have to look forward and think about what's coming up in the next few weeks.

"Other teams have dropped points as well. We are ninth in the table but the points difference is not as big as you'd expect if you look at the amount of games we've won, drawn and lost.

"That shows that the league has either got stronger or that the top teams have not yet hit really good form."

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