Rio Ferdinand has dismissed claims Manchester United are in a phase of transition.
Much has been made of United's lack of spending in the summer compared to recent years and the amount of young players like Javier Hernandez, Bebe and Gabriel Obertan being introduced into the side. But Ferdinand, 32, rejects the idea that this is a new team in transition, even though he is assuming more responsibility, guiding those youngsters around him.
The centre-back said: "I have been at the club when there were a lot of players coming through, a two or three-year period when we didn't win the league.
"We won a couple of cups but didn't win the league and that was a real transitional period.
"That was a time when we lost players like Ruud van Nistelrooy, Roy Keane and Diego Forlan among others, along with Phil Neville and Nicky Butt.
"They were real mainstays of our squad and we were bringing through Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.
"But now we have got a lot more players in our squad who are at the peak ages of their careers.
"We have one or two who are at the back end of their careers but a lot of us are at the time in their careers where they are playing at their best.
"So, although we are blending one or two players in, to say it is a transitional period would be a bit over the mark."
