Ferdinand talks to the press on Monday.
Rio Ferdinand insists his England team-mates have not considered what they would do if they were subjected to the same racist abuse on Wednesday that they encountered on their last visit to Spain four years ago.
Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ashley Cole, both members of the present England squad, bore the brunt of the abuse last time around.
The Football Association made strong complaints immediately after the game and are believed to have privately informed their Spanish counterparts they would have been uncomfortable with Wednesday's game being played at the Bernabeu Stadium.
Instead, the contest will take place in Seville in the hope it does not get overshadowed by off-field matters.
As one of the most articulate voices in the England camp, Ferdinand would have been the perfect platform from which the players could express their concerns.
Instead, the Manchester United defender claimed minds were purely focussed on the not inconsiderable task of beating the Euro 2008 winners rather than what the Spanish fans might do.
"It doesn't really faze me," he said.
"As players, we are there to play football. Whatever the sideshow is, it is in the back, not in the forefront of our minds."
Three years ago, Samuel Eto'o famously attempted to walk off the pitch in disgust at the racism being meted out towards him during a Primera Liga game for Barcelona at Zaragoza.
It is easy to envisage Ferdinand harbouring similar thoughts.
Yet if he does, the 30-year-old is keeping them to himself.
"That is not in my mind at all," he said.
"It is not something we have discussed over lunch or at training. All we are talking about is the kind of result we are looking for."
On that ground, Ferdinand feels far more at home, especially in considering David Beckham's presence.
Beckham requires just one more cap to equal Bobby Moore's record for an England outfield player. Yet, as he approaches that 108-cap milestone, Beckham's critics are out in force once more, claiming the former Three Lions skipper is not fit to lace his illustrious predecessor's boots.
As a graduate of the famed West Ham academy, Ferdinand does not require a history lesson on Moore, the only Englishman to captain a World Cup-winning side.
But he feels Beckham's many detractors and being unfair to his former Old Trafford colleague.
"David has had a lot of challenges throughout his career and he seems to have come through them all with flying colours," said Ferdinand.
"It is only a couple of years ago that people said he was finished. But he is still a fantastic footballer and an integral member of the squad.
"Just to reach 100 caps is an unbelievable achievement. To then get to the record of a man the stature of Bobby Moore is phenomenal.
"I am sure in his wildest dreams Becks would not have thought about getting to that level when he was pulling his boots on as a seven-year-old kid.
"But he could go on to set new records and he deserves them."
Beckham is presently trying to find a way of extricating himself from an exceptionally lucrative contract with LA Galaxy in order to sign a full-time contract with AC Milan.
At 33, he is enjoying a fabulous autumn to his career. And it has only taken a matter of hours for Ferdinand to see what a different life in Serie A had made to his long-time friend.
"He looks to be very happy at Milan and really enjoying his football," said Ferdinand.
"There is a zest about him and speaking to Becks since he has been here, he is clearly having the time of his life."
In much the same way as coach Fabio Capello thought the game last March in France was the perfect yardstick with which to measure his team, even though they lost, so Spain can provide the acid test for 2009.
By the end of the year England expect to be confirmed as one of 32 challengers for the World Cup in South Africa, which in itself is a major stride forward in terms of the perception by which the Three Lions will be judged.
But, win or lose this week, Ferdinand feels England will continue to build, with the final judgement on Capello coming in the middle of 2010.
"Spain are one of the best two teams in the world at the moment," said Ferdinand.
"We have got to put in a performance and acquit ourselves in the right way.
"It will show how far we have come under the new manager but it won't make or break our team because this is only the start.
"Managers are judged my their tournaments. It is quite cut-throat in that sense but that is the way it is.
"I am sure that is the same for Fabio and that is how he will want to be judged."
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