Rio Ferdinand says the current Manchester United squad is the tightest he's ever experienced.

"The team spirit is the best it's been since I've been here," said Ferdinand. "Obviously I can't say what it was like before my time, but I've never known it any better.

"I can only assume the manager does extensive research into a player's personality before signing him because we've not had one bad apple.

"Everyone's brilliant, especially the foreign lads - Nani, Anderson, Ji-Sung Park, Patrice Evra, Carlos Tevez, Tomasz Kuszczak ... the list goes on.

"They all get involved in the banter and as soon as they join the club we welcome them. If you're wearing bad clothing you'll get hammered whether it's your first day or you've been here 10 years.

"If the lads think you've done something funny, they're not shy in telling you about it."