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RIO FERDINAND: CARLOS TEVEZ IS THE ONE MANCHESTER UNITED FEAR

RIO Ferdinand says Carlos Tevez is a low-key trainer – but a high-octane performer on the pitch.

And Manchester United defender Ferdinand will be ready for a tough test at Manchester City on Saturday, providing he is fit for the derby.

Ferdinand, who struggled through the last 10 minutes at Blackburn on Sunday with a groin problem, said of former United team-mate Tevez: “Carlos is an interesting character.

“When he was at United he saved all his energy for the games. He didn’t really go over the top at training.

“He’d do his work in the gym – he was a professional in that sense – but everything he did was geared towards the match.”

Tevez has geared himself up so well since joining City last summer that he has already hit 28 goals and is on a hot streak of six in the last three matches.

Ferdinand knows United will have their hands full at Eastlands. “You could see him conserving his energy during the week and then laying it all on the line out on the pitch,” Ferdinand told United Magazine.

“That’s not the way I operate. I have to train at a high level every day, but it works for Carlos and he can be a real handful.

“He’s a top player and he’s doing very well at City.”

United are hoping Wayne Rooney will have recovered from his ankle injury to join Ferdinand for a match they must win in order to retain any interest in the title race.

If 34-goal Rooney doesn’t make it, the pressure will be cranked up on Dimitar Berbatov to deliver.

In a thinly-disguised dig at the £30.75m record signing, assistant manager Mike Phelan said: “Wayne’s having an exceptional season and we can’t get away from that fact, but this is Manchester United with a lot of other quality players in the squad.

“At times, you are going to miss people. When that happens, other people have to come to the front. They have to show the calibre that brought them to the club in the first place.”

Berbatov, signed amidst much bitterness with Spurs on deadline day 2008, has scored only 12 goals this season and 26 in total.

Ferdinand, if he makes it, will be hoping he doesn’t need rescuing again. In September Michael Owen scored the last-gasp goal in United’s 4-3 win after the centre-back’s error let in Craig Bellamy to make it 3-3.

“It was a real ‘phew’ moment,” said Ferdinand. “In the dressing room the lads were bouncing around going crazy, but I was just depressed, sitting there thinking about how lucky I had been.

“I hate making errors, especially in games of that magnitude. I think it is fair to say I avoided a rollicking from the boss because of Michael’s goal.”

dailystar.com