RIO FERDINAND has revealed that a warning from Alex Ferguson inspired Manchester United's Club World Cup win. They were told that their "mediocre" season might get even worse if they returned from Japan empty-handed.

United's win over Liga de Quito on Sunday completed an English, European and world treble for Ferguson's team in 2008, with a €3.5 million winners' cheque and the first Premier League success in Fifa's showpiece event since it expanded into a global event. But Ferdinand admits the team entered the final conscious that performance levels had dipped since they won the Premier League and Champions League double last season, and they had been told as much by Ferguson.

"The manager hit the nail on the head with his team talk before the game," said the England vice-captain. "He said a lot of things that were needed to get us into gear. One of his main points was the fact that if we didn't win the Club World Cup it would have a big effect on our season - a very negative effect. Sometimes you need to be told the basics and reminded about what got us to where we have been last year and the year before."

"Winning this trophy could be a defining point in our season," added Ferdinand. "It could be a turning point that turns our season from being quite mediocre in certain aspects and in terms of results into hopefully being challenging. We want to be in a good position to strike from. We are not in that position at the moment but we can gain a lot of confidence from our performance and victory in the final."

Ferguson admitted to concern at the continued profligacy of his expensively assembled attack. "It's been a big problem for us so far this season," the United manager said. "We have only scored eight goals away from home in the league and that's nowhere near good enough. If we can get that better edge then we have a chance."