Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has insisted that new manager David Moyes will be "sympathetic" to the traditions of the illustrious club when he takes the reins from Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Scotsman was confirmed as the man to replace Ferguson, who ends his 26-year tenure at the club, on a six-year contract.

"We are all delighted," Ferdinand told MUTV. "I think it was important that the club made a decision quickly and it all got sorted out. Another reason why I think it's a good appointment is that David Moyes will be very, very open and sympathetic to the traditions of the club and he'll try to continue that and not come in and make changes in terms of the whole characteristics of the club.

"That's important for a club of this size and important from what's gone on before. The manager that we've got now has implemented a fantastic system, a working system, and we've been successful this year and hopefully we can continue that and this guy I'm sure is the right man to do that and take us forward.

"He's a very honest man it seems, and from what you hear from other players that you speak to and he's done a fantastic job at his previous club, Everton. They've always been a solid team always hard to play against and what he's always demanded from his players, from what we see, is a great work ethic and I think there are a lot of similarities with the manager that we've got at the moment. That's a big thing that he continues that tradition."

Moyes, who will leave Everton at the end of the season after 11 years, will begin his new job on July 1.