'Vidic, Ferdinand could never play in tandem'

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has said senior defenders Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand could never play in tandem again for the club.

Captain Vidic was omitted from Fergie’s line-up for the Champions League draw against Real Madrid on Wednesday after playing a full 90 minutes the previous Sunday against Everton, the Sun reports.

Ferguson said he had his doubts about whether he was doing the right thing or not because Vidic was fantastic against Everton, adding however, he stuck by what the club has been doing with the Serbian.

Fergie added playing Vidic again after three days to his mind was a risk, adding it would have been the same for Ferdinand.

The Old Trafford boss said if Ferdinand had played on the Sunday then he would have had his doubts whether to play him on Wednesday.

Jonny Evans had another top performance in the Bernabeu as 34-year-old Ferdinand’s partner ahead of Vidic, who has suffered knee trouble for the last 18 months.

Ferguson added Evans has emerged as a real top defender and his form has been fantastic, adding the thing about young players, particularly defenders, when you get consistency from them you know you’re on the right track with them.

Fergie said he thinks Evans has shown great consistency in the last year, adding if you remember what he said about last year, it wasn’t until Ferdinand and Evans played regularly together that we got a run going.

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