Boss: Reds Can Be Four-midable

Sir Alex Ferguson insists his players are well aware of the difficult task ahead in trying to secure a fourth Championship in a row, but he says the Reds are ready for the challenge.

The champions are attempting to become the first team to win the English top flight title four times on the trot. It would also be a 19th triumph overall, nudging them one ahead of arch rivals Liverpool.

Sir Alex is well aware of the threat posed by United's fellow 'big four' rivals, namely Rafa Benitez's men, Chelsea and Arsenal, while the boss also admits he will be keeping a close eye on the progress of United's Manchester neighbours.

But having seen his side handle the pressures of a jam-packed campaign last season, he remains confident in their ability to succeed once again this time round.

"Winning four titles is something we'd like to do and it would be a great achievement," he said at a recent press conference.

"We know how difficult it is to win this league. We accepted a good challenge last season in terms of having to go to Japan [for the Club World Cup] and then play catch-up and to win the league was a great achievement.

"We don't have that problem this season, although I wish we did. But [trying to win four titles in a row] is still a great challenge for us.

"It's difficult to say [who the biggest threat is]. I think ourselves, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal are looking at what's happening at Manchester City with great interest and whether it can work in terms of the money they've spent," he added.

"They're on the back pages every week now and there's a lot of interest in their situation particularly as none of us have really gone into the market in a big way. We've sold players in fact - Liverpool sold Alonso, we've sold Ronaldo, Arsenal sold Adebayor... the big four have actually been really quiet [in terms of buying]. So we're all interested in how it's going to pan out at City."