SMELLS LIKE TEAM SPIRIT ... Rio Ferdinand is impressed with Roy Hodgson's England

RIO FERDINAND claims England are being driven on in their Euro 2012 charge by a special unity which did not always exist in the past.

Ferdinand has been heartened by the way the squad has mixed so well with one another, showing no divisions between players along club lines.

The Manchester United star, who made his England debut back in 1997, knows only too well how, in days gone by, intense club rivalries meant camaraderie in the camp was not all it could have been.

Ferdinand said: “When I first started with England, players would sit in distinct groups.

“You would have a table for Manchester United players, another for the Liverpool lads and one for Alan Shearer and his mob.

“I didn’t know where to sit for fear I would upset one group or another and be marked down as in a particular gang.

“It all sounds strange now but that’s how it was in those days.

“I think it was partly because many of the Liverpool boys were proper Scousers, like Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman, while the Manchester United lads were real Mancs, such as Gary Neville and Paul Scholes.

“And it doesn’t need me to explain how bitter the rivalry can be between the two teams, especially if you have grown up with it ever since you were a kid.

“When I was invited along to Euro 96, just to join in training for a couple of days, I sat with Paul Ince, who was with Inter Milan at the time, and Les Ferdinand, because we were Londoners.

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