Rio Ferdinand believes the international break has helped Paul Pogba.

Paul Pogba of Manchester United [Getty]

Former Manchester United centre-half Rio Ferdinand is convinced the international break has done a lot of good for Paul Pogba.

Pogba has struggled to keep his place in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's starting XI and was heavily scrutinised following a series of below-par displays especially in United's 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.

After joining up with Didier Deschamps team, Pogba admitted it felt like a breath of fresh air, and those comments drew more condemnation from some United fans.

However, former England defender Ferdinand acknowledged Pogba's comments, saying "we've been there", and expects the 27-year-old to be in 'a different frame of mind' going forward.

"I understand what he's saying," he said. "You don't want to hear it as a Manchester United fan, first and foremost, but we've been there, we know that when you're in bad form as an individual, or collective as a team, going away with your national side is very much a breath of fresh air.

"It means you can take your mind off that pressure, get out of that pressure, go into international football, and get a bit of confidence back.

"I think that's what Paul's done with two good games. He'll be in a different frame of mind after that."

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