Ferdinand admits he is one more Man Utd defeat from ‘panicking’ after Liverpool mauling

Rio Ferdinand has admitted he will “start panicking” if Manchester United lose to Real Betis or Southampton this week.

United were dramatically brought back down to earth on Sunday after a 7-0 loss at arch-rivals Liverpool.

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Erik ten Hag’s side had only claimed the Carabao Cup seven days prior and there was some talk throughout the media of an unprecedented quadruple.

However, the embarrassing defeat to Liverpool has ended such talk with the Premier League title seemingly out of reach.

Arsenal currently lead reigning champions Manchester City by five points with 12 games to play, while the Red Devils are 14 behind the Gunners with a game in hand.

United will hope to bounce back on Thursday when they host Spanish side Real Betis in the Europa League.

It will be interesting to see if Ten Hag opts to make a lot of changes from the starting XI that was ripped to shreds at Anfield, especially after the woeful performances from Luke Shaw and Raphael Varane in particular.

Club captain Harry Maguire and summer signing Tyrell Malacia will be waiting in the wings if the Dutch manager decides to drop Varane and Shaw.

After Thursday’s European clash, United host relegation-threatened Southampton.

And the club’s former defender Ferdinand thinks a defeat against Betis or the Saints will justify a big ol’ panic.

Discussing the Liverpool defeat, Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel: “To sit here and start picking players out for one performance, we have been sitting here for many months now saying this team are on the upward curve in contrast to what it has been.

“They have had one performance and we are going to put them on the floor, I don’t think it is right.

“I am only going to start panicking if we get beaten on Thursday [against Real Betis] or Southampton at the weekend.

“That will tell me where this team is mentally.”

Ferdinand’s guest and former United teammate Patrick Evra insists Ten Hag’s men will bounce back from .

“They are having an amazing season, so it is harsh to condemn them just because of that game,” the former left-back said.

“Yes, that game they didn’t show up.”

Ten Hag was visibly furious during his post-match interview on Sunday, labeling his players “unprofessional”.