MANCHESTER, England (AFP) - Alex Ferguson is hoping the return of Rio Ferdinand will usher in a period of defensive stability for Manchester United as the club struggles to get its season back on track.
Ferguson would not confirm whether Ferdinand, sidelined for eight months by a ban imposed for missing a doping test, would come straight back into the team for Liverpool's Premiership visit to Old Trafford on Sunday, describing his selection dilemma as "a major decision" he still has to take.
But the United boss admits he is looking forward to being able to select a settled defence in which Ferdinand will be a key figure.
"What we need is to get a consistent back four playing again," Ferguson said Friday. "We have proved in the past that once we get that continuity and understanding with each other the clean sheets follow.
"With the 94 (double-winning) team, the back four never changed. Last year before Rio went away, the back four never changed.
"We got the results during those times which shows how important a settled defence is and that is what we are looking for again. Once Gary Neville comes back (from injury), we will have a settled back four and the results will change."
Results need to change sooner rather than later if United are to stay in the title race. After only five games, Ferguson's men already trail Arsenal by nine points and they made a stuttering start to their Champions League campaign in a 2-2 draw in Lyon in midweek.
Ferguson was full of praise for the way Ferdinand has kept his focus in training, despite the frustration of missing out on matches for United and England over the last eight months.
"Rio has done fantastically well," the Scot said. "You need a lot of patience and have to make sacrifices because even though you are training every day, you don't have the joy of playing on a Saturday. That's a big loss to a footballer."
Ferguson said he had drawn on his experience of dealing with Eric Cantona, who was banned for a similar length of time after aiming a kung-fu kick at a fan in a match at Crystal Palace in 1995, and players who have been ruled out of action for full seasons with injuries.
"There are similarities ovbiously with Eric Cantona when he came back from suspension," Ferguson said.
"What we tried to do with Rio was to focus on the fact that other players, namely Eric, but also Roy Keane, Wes Brown and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have missed for seasons.
"You have to treat it in the same sort of vein. But it's not easy. You just have to keep digging away, looking forward to the day you come back."
Although Ferdinand would appear to be an automatic choice, Ferguson is wary of allowing his return to overshadow what is a very important encounter for the club.
"Obviously, we have a major decision to make but what I want to avoid is all the hype before Monday. At the end of the day Manchester United have a serious game to play against Liverpool.
"Anything other than that, including the players who might play is co-incidental compared to the importance of the match."
Ferdinand had earlier said he was determined to repay Ferguson for keeping faith with him. The England international continued to be paid all his wages despite being unable to play after what he claims was an oversight.
"There is definitely a debt of honour to repay the boss and I intend to repay him by putting in top-class performances," Ferdinand said.
"I've been doing extra training and have probably worked harder than I did when I was playing because you are not keeping back energy for games.
"I have been training harder than ever so that when I do return, I can hit the ground running. I really started training with a purpose when we came back for pre-season."
Ferdinand added that he hoped that his lay-off would have a positive legacy. "I have never had more than three weeks off at a time since I was 16, so to have eight months off and six weeks of resting in the summer can only be beneficial," he said.
"I have also been able to analyse my game and try to improve on things. When I come back, hopefully people will see a much better player."