Ferdinand looking to prove Eriksson wrong

Rio Ferdinand has revealed his determination to prove Sven-Goran Eriksson was wrong to leave him out of the England team earlier this season.

The Manchester United centre-back was dropped by Eriksson for the World Cup qualifier against Austria in October, which spurred the 27-year-old on to 'prove the manager wrong and shove it back down his throat'.

Ferdinand's form has improved since and he looks set to be at the heart of England's defence for the World Cup in Germany this summer, thanks in part to the form and fitness of Arsenal's Sol Campbell.

'As a professional in any way shape or form, being left out of what you love doing and not being able to perform is something that's going to spur you on to work harder, to prove people wrong, prove the manager wrong and shove it back down his throat,' said Ferdinand.

'With hindsight, maybe he was right, but it still leaves a bad taste in your mouth. It doesn't matter if the manager was right or wrong because you don't want to be left out of any team whether it's your Sunday team as a kid or the England team who you dreamed about playing for as a kid.

'It's something that hurts and something that will probably be there forever - thinking back about it brings bad memories but that's part and parcel of being a footballer. You have your ups and downs and you've got to brush yourself down and get on with it.'

England will be among the favourites to win in Germany, although Ferdinand remains cautious despite the strong squad at Eriksson's disposal.

'It's wrong for us to think that far ahead,' Ferdinand said.

'To think about winning it is a discredit to the other teams. In your wildest dreams you want to win it but I don't like to say `we're going to win' because it is tempting fate.

'We've got to perform on the day collectively, not as individuals - that will be the key for us to do well in the tournament.'

Ferdinand believes England can learn from Greece's unlikely victory at the European Championships in Portugal two years ago, adding: 'On paper, when you look at our squad it's one of the better squads around with some fantastic players in there but names never win a tournament - Greece proved that in the European Championships.

'They were collectively a solid unit and worked for each other, and that's what we have to do because we know individually we have the talent. It's collectively we have to show it and bring to together.'