Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is adamant their Club World Championship campaign will not wreck their Premiership title bid.

"Playing in Japan is the price of success, isn't it?" Ferdinand told the Mirror. "We were a long way behind Arsenal when we won the title in 2003, my first season at United, so it's not a foregone conclusion when you're behind the leaders.

"We know we could come back from Japan quite a few points behind the leaders. But we know we're capable of winning the title because we've got enough quality to go on a 15 or 20-game unbeaten run and get ourselves right back into contention.

"It's simple - the team that wins the title is the one that's the most consistent and the one that best handles the pressure. And if any team can do that, then it's us, as we've proved many times in the past."