Rio Ferdinand believes Van Persie made a big difference

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand believes that the club’s summer recruit Robin van Persie made a big difference to the side that lost the title last season on goal difference on the final day of the season.

van Persie has scored 24 goals for the newly crowned champions and is currently the leading goalscorer in the Premier League. The Dutchman scored all three goals in United’s win against Aston Villa yesterday that helped them clinch the title with four games to spare. And the England international, who sat out of yesterday’s match, said:

“Robin has been a big factor. Last season, we lost on goal difference which tells you that we didn’t score enough goals. We brought in a man who was top scorer last season and he looks like he is going to do that again this season.

“He has definitely added to what we had already.”

Rio was all praise for the manner in which the Red Devils reclaimed the title from their noisy neighbours. He added:

“It’s always sweet when you win the title and it’s nice to do it here, in the right way and in style, not on goal difference.

“We have won it outright and we have won it comfortably. It just shows the resilience and attitude the manager has instilled in us. A lot of teams would probably have fallen away.

“We played Liverpool a couple of seasons ago when they were fighting for the title, we beat them and got to the league before them and they’ve not been seen since. That shows the mentality and character that this club has.”