Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that Rio Ferdinand is close to agreeing a new contract at Manchester United.

England defender Ferdinand, who captained his country in the friendly against France in Paris last month, is currently one of the highest-paid players in the Premier League after thrashing out a £100,000-a-week deal in 2005.

The former West Ham and Leeds defender, a £30 million buy from Elland Road in 2003, has only two years remaining on his current deal, however, and Ferguson admits that talks over extending the 29-year-old's contract are progressing well.

Ferguson said: "Negotiations have been on-going for a few weeks now and I don't think we are far away now.

"It's never easy negotiating contracts nowadays, but Rio has been outstanding in recent weeks for us. Against Roma in midweek, his intelligence in possession and pace were very important for us."

Ferdinand's importance to United is only likely to grow in the coming weeks with Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic ruled out for three weeks with the knee injury suffered during the 2-0 Champions League win in Rome.

Vidic and Ferdinand have been key figures in a United defence that has conceded just 15 league goals all season and Ferguson admits that the news on Vidic was a timely boost amid fears that the former Spartak Moscow man was set to miss the rest of the season.

Ferguson said: "Nemanja will be a loss, but we can cope because Mikael Silvestre and Gary Neville are fit again and we also have John O'Shea and Gerard Pique. We are well covered, so if we can't cope, there is something wrong.

"The news on Vidic is the best we could have hoped for because he should be back within three weeks. Both Mikael and Gary have great personalities, though, and their experience will help us."

United travel to Middlesbrough on Sunday aiming to maintain their lead at the top of the Premier League, but with title rivals Chelsea and Arsenal facing difficult games against Manchester City and Arsenal respectively 24 hours earlier, Ferguson admits that the race for the title has now reached a decisive stage.

He said: "The most important thing now is that we do our own job because we have come to the stage of the season where every game is as good as a league decider.

"We only have two home games left to play, with away games at Boro, Blackburn, Chelsea and Wigan, so we know we have to make sure our away form stays strong.

"We are approaching the finishing line, so there is not a long time to go. But sometimes in title races, the end can seem like a lifetime away.

"Nerves are going to play a part and there will be shocks, but we just have to stay consistent because the team that is most consistent will win the league."

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