The cameras rolled.
Ferdinand: "Danny. First cup final. How do you feel?"
"Calm. Which surprises me. I thought I'd be nervous by now. I thought the closer it got, the more I'd feel it. But the preparation is done. The squad is ready. The football is tested. And when the preparation is right, the nerves don't come. The focus does."
Ferdinand: "Take me back. Take me back to the beginning. How was it, taking the reins of a club for the first time? And I don't mean any club. I mean Crystal Palace in April 2017. A team that was losing matches. Low morale. Fans angry with the board. And they hand the job to a twenty-seven-year-old who has never managed a professional football match in his life. A youth team coach. No Premier League experience. No badges above his U18s qualification. And they say: go and fight off relegation."
"It was terrifying," I said.
