Ferdinand claims there is a ‘mole in the camp’ at Man Utd

Rio Ferdinand has urged Erik ten Hag to bring the “fear” back to the Man Utd dressing room and clear out the “mole in the camp”.

The Dutchman will take over at the end of the season after the Red Devils confirmed has appointment last week on a deal until the summer of 2025, with the option of a further year.

Ten Hag faces an uphill task to take Man Utd back towards the top of the Premier League table next season after a disastrous campaign for the Red Devils.

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ESPN claimed yesterday that Ten Hag ‘will have to oversee an evolution rather than revolution of the squad when he takes over’ as Man Utd set his transfer budget between £100m and £150m.

But Ferdinand thinks it is more important he gets the culture at the club right with all the players pulling in the same direction.

Ferdinand said on his Vibe with Five YouTube channel: “I talk about the culture all the time, and that’s number one on my list. The culture has to be right, because you need to see, first and foremost, a work ethic.

“You need to see a culture of people not wanting to get beat. You need to see a culture of it (losing) hurting people.

“You need to see a culture of discipline in the group, nothing getting out. Stuff that we’ve got in the papers, the manager (Sir Alex Ferguson) would pull the squad in immediately, and I don’t think this happens now.”

On how it would’ve gone if Sir Alex Ferguson had found out about leaks coming from the dressing room, Ferdinand added: “The manager would get that squad in, tight group, get in a circle. ‘What’s going on here? If I find out who is leaking stories to the media.’

“You’re standing there thinking: ‘I hope and I’m going to find out that no one in my team has spoken to anyone in the media, because I haven’t.’

“At the moment, there’s a mole in the camp. There’s leaks coming out far too often that suggests this squad ain’t like that (puts hands together). This squad ain’t there (tight-knit).

“Setting the culture is just an absolute gimme. It’s an absolute must. You can’t have a culture at the club, which is right now of, players aren’t in fear of bad performances.

“The culture at the football club isn’t that of fear of disappointing the hierarchy, the manager, and stuff like that.

“It’s like: ‘I don’t play well, it’s not my fault, it’s his.’ There’s no repercussions. At the moment, at the football club, there aren’t consequences for actions on and off the pitch.”

On why getting the appointment of a new manager was so important, Ferdinand continued: “It starts there (gestures to the top). That’s why the manager is so important. People keep going: ‘It’s the players.’ All of it needs to be working together, but the manager sets the tone.”