Rio Ferdinand has revealed that former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson never considered utilising a three-man defensive line during his spell in charge.
A number of different defensive approaches have earned focus during recent seasons, with a three-man central defensive unit regularly being utilised.
In the Premier League, Antonio Conte led Chelsea to Premier League glory in 2016-17 by utilising the approach - which features two wing-backs in a more advanced defensive role than the standard full-backs usually selected by managers.
Since the Italian made the tactic more of a familiar scene in English football, a three-man defensive unit has been used by a number of different clubs and managers.
This season, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer utilised a 3-4-1-2 formation on two occasions in the Champions League - coming in the 2-1 victory against Paris Saint-Germain in the opening group stage match and in the defeat to RB Leipzig in the final group game.
United 's results with that approach were varied and, during a Twitter Q&A with supporters, Ferdinand was asked whether Ferguson ever considered a three-man defensive line.
The former defender issued a one-word response to make it clear that it didn't cross the mind of the Scotsman though, simply replying: 'Never'.
Ferdinand also stated it's a 'wonderful feeling' to be considered as arguably United's greatest-ever central defender and also expressed his belief that England underappreciated his former teammate Paul Scholes.
The ex-United defender is part of the BBC's punditry team for the European Championships and was present for England's 1-0 victory over Croatia on Sunday.
That result puts England in with a great chance of progressing to the knockout stages of the competition, with Scotland and the Czech Republic their next opponents.
