Mourinho said neither United nor Manchester City had been 'terrific' champions in the past two seasons.
Having made a winning start to their season with a 4-1 win over Swansea on Saturday, United are confident they can add to that victory when they meet Chelsea at Old Trafford on August 26.
"That was his first sound bite of the season, wasn't it? I think we expected it," Ferdinand said of Mourinho's comments.
"A lot of teams vying for the championship are going to be struggling for points at Swansea, so it was a good result.
"I'm looking forward to Chelsea. We are really looking forward to it. Now we can start playing for something."
United's title credentials were questioned early in the season as they struggled through pre-season under new manager David Moyes.
Ferdinand said his side deserved more credit after cruising to the English Premier League title last season.
"We are professional people and want to win. You don't appreciate it when people don't put you in the position you should be," he said.
"Being champions you warrant maybe a little bit more but every next person is tipping someone else to win the league and putting us in third or fourth place.
"It seemed people thought we should have come away with zero points and there would have been a lot of noise if we'd lost.
"The vibe all week was people wanted it.
"So it was nice to go there – especially in the gaffer's first real competitive game – and to win convincingly – as we did."
