The club have spent a lot of money on players including myself

The club have spent a lot of money on players, including myself. We have to repay the fans, and the board who have had faith in us.”During international duty, Eriksson has been a revelation to him. “As a foreign manager, I was expecting him to come in with all these new ideas But in fact they are what you grew up with. It’s 4-4-2 and keep the ball, and work hard when you haven’t. There’s more to it than that, of course, but those are the basics I was quite surprised. The only way he’s different from coaches I’ve played under before is that he doesn’t say much But he’s got an aura about him. He sees football as a simple game, and expects you do the simple things well.”Ferdinand witnessed England’s defeat by Germany at Wembley from the substitutes’ bench.

“It left a sour taste in all our mouths, especially as the manager resigned immediately afterwards as well It was a really bad day. The boys want to make up for that and go to Germany and beat them We’re not going there to draw or lose. If necessary, the performance goes out the window as long as we get the points in the bag.”The first England-Germany meeting he can recall was the 1990 World Cup meeting “Waddle and Pearcey missing penalties I remember them,” he grimaces “There’s a spice about our rivalry. Even for players my age who were born long after the ‘66 World Cup, there’s still something about these games. But we’ll go out there without any fear of anyone.”Those words come as no surprise from the character who many forecast erroneously, could be handicapped by being branded “the world’s costliest defender”. Whether it’s the tradition of German footballing might or the weight of £18m on his shoulders, his attitude is the same “That’s just the way I’ve been brought up We don’t dwell on the past,” he declared.

“The day I signed for Leeds, my brother said, ‘Hey, £18m! Mad isn’t it?’ That was the last day my family have ever mentioned the price tag The club paid the money It wasn’t my decision. My mum was right when she said ‘just go out and enjoy it’.”Ferdinand readily acknowledges that life has treated him well. “When I was young I remember going up to Bond Street with my mates,” he said. “I remember thinking I’d love to be able to go in there and walk out past the security guards with loads of bags – those security guards who looked at you as if to say, ‘What are looking at our shop for? You haven’t got any money You can’t come in’ In fact, I save most of my money But you put the hard work in and you reap the rewards.