Manchester United chief David Gill sounds a warning to Manchester City

Sir Alex Ferguson and chief executive David Gill

Bullish United chief executive David Gill says the Reds will come back all guns blazing next season and insists the club can compete with City during this summers transfer market frenzy.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is steeling himself for the newly-crowned champions from Eastlands to shell out stupid money to bolster their bid to retain the crown in 2013.

But on a more modest budget, Gill and Fergie are convinced the Reds have got the magnetism and cash to lure their targets to Old Trafford.

Manchester United can and will attract some of the best players in world football of that there is no doubt, said Gill.

We can compete. Why can we compete? Well, because our revenues are in the top three in world football and they are growing significantly in terms of our commercial area and the media area. They are highly profitable revenues.

Within that we can invest in players both in transfers and contracts for players. We are a very attractive club.

We still pay very good contracts but we also have other assets at Manchester United that we believe can be used to get the best players in, whether it is Alex Ferguson and his record, or [the chance to play alongside] players like Ryan Giggs or our history and heritage.

Disappointed

We are disappointed clearly, it would be silly not to say anything else but that is the beauty of live sport. We are two or three minutes away from retaining the title and then it all turns round.

You have to congratulate City on scoring those last- minute goals. We have done it on many, many occasions. The highs in sport are fantastic and the lows are pretty low but we move on. We cant chan! ge it an d time is a great healer.

We have to look at the squad and make the changes for next season and we will come out all guns blazing in August, of that I am sure.

Gill said that a number of transfer targets had already been shortlisted and the United chief executive reckons Fergie is keen to bounce back immediately by securing their 20th title next term.

He didnt sleep much on Sunday night. None of us did. He was in the office at 7.30 on Monday morning already thinking about next season, said Gill at the Premier League 20 Seasons awards in London, where Fergie was named best manager and Ryan Giggs won the best player category.

We have to get on with it now, added Gill. We cant look back and feel sorry for ourselves.

We have started planning for next year. We will come back fresh and I am always confident with this manager.

Time may be catching up with him Ferguson turns 71 in December but Gill, who picked up the award on his behalf, insists the Scot has no plans to retire just yet.

He has a rolling contract and he delegates, he still has the enthusiasm, and I am sure he will go on for many more years, Gill said.

He made the decision to retire a few years ago but in the end he didnt and I think it was the correct decision. Football is his life. Long may he continue.

Gill said the Reds were constantly looking for new faces to strengthen the squad. We always look at it [new signings]. We look at it on a continual basis with Alex, his coaches and his scouts, assessing who we would like to bring in and there will be hopefully some new additions and we will see what happens, added Gill.

We are not going to comment on individual players that would be inappropriate.

We try and do it privately and see what happens. This process of looking at players continues throughout the year it doesnt just start yesterday, we are doing a lot of assessment.

We are l! ooking a t certain positions and certain areas but we are not going to buy players just for the sake of buying players just because there is pressure to do it outside in the media.

Clearly, we have a great squad of players. Yes, we finished second but we had 89 points. We will only bring in players who Alex believes can and will improve what is a great, great bunch of players.

We have some youngsters in there and a good mix of youth and experience, so additions have got to improve that.

United fans have been hoping for a considerable war chest to improve the Reds but Fergie accepts the club wont outbid the Blues in any price war but can still succeed.

We know City are going to spend fortunes, pay stupid money and silly salaries. We know that happens. We cant do anything about that, said Fergie.
Plenty of positives for next season, says No 1 star Ryan Giggs

Premier League awards for Manchester United duo Sir Alex Ferguson and Ryan Giggs

We are not like other clubs who can spend fortunes on proven goods. We invest in players who will be with the club for a long time, who will create the character of the club and the excitement for our fans. We are good at that and we are going to continue that way. We have set out our stall for certain players and we want to make sure the evolution continues at United. I have been at the club for 25 years and I have to maintain a certain standard that keeps us there all the time.

We dont always win it but we are always there, which is great credit to h! ow we vi ew things. But there is nothing materially wrong with us. I know there are some critics but we got 89 points.

Ashley Young (2), Patrice Evra and Wayne Rooney scored as a strong United side beat an Irish Premier League XI 4-1 in a testimonial for former Reds goalkeeper Harry Gregg at Windsor Park in Belfast.

The game, played to support the 79-year-old Gregg who also played for Northern Ireland, also featured Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov.

Watched by Sir Alex Ferguson and Gregg, a survivor of the Munich air disaster of 1958 who played 247 times for United, the visitors had goals by Nani and Owen disallowed for offside before Evra opened the scoring.

Cliftonville striker Chris Scannell made it 1-1 for the Irish League side managed by Sunderland boss Martin ONeill before the Reds showed their superiority.

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