Rio Ferdinand defended Manchester United forward Anthony Martial after criticism from his former teammate Paul Scholes.
Scholes recently suggested that Martial had 'conned' people into believing that he was a number nine with his performances last season and wasn't good enough moving forward.
However, Ferdinand feels Scholes' comments on Martial were unfair, pointing out his record in front of goal last season.
"I thought it was very harsh from Scholesy. Last season, he scored 23 goals and got nine assists as a number nine. He had played up front inconsistently in his previous time at Manchester United," Ferdinand told BT Sport.
"He was played wide on the left sometimes. He had a good run of games up there and he proved his worth. As a young number nine, scoring goals at United is no easy feat and he has gone and done it.
"He has been effective in that position. What I think he needs to add is a level of consistency throughout the season and I think he will be searching for that this season.
"He finished the season on fire last year. We all know he can score top-class goals and I think that consistency is that what this guy needs to get into his game so that he can say, 'I am the Man United number nine'."
Martial is yet to open his account for United this season, failing to score in three Premier League appearances. He was sent off in United's loss to Spurs on October 4 and is currently one game into a three-game domestic suspension.
