Manchester United owner Malcolm Glazer has reportedly increased the pressure on manager Sir Alex Ferguson by telling him he must win the title next year.
United chief executive David Gill met with Glazer in Florida on Tuesday and according to The Daily Mirror he was told that the new owners expect an immediate return on their £790million investment, especially as Glazer will need to service interest payments on the massive loan he used to buy the club.
Glazer has identified Premiership and
Champions League glory as key to United's financial success, meaning that Ferguson's men must deliver on the field.
Ferguson is currently on a 12-month rolling contract, renewable at the end of each campaign. But a third successive season without a Premiership win could see the end of Ferguson's 19-year reign at
Old Trafford.
The Scot will also have to do without the big-money signings that are expected from rivals
Chelsea and
Liverpool, instead spending the little money he does have extremely wisely on the likes of Edwin van der Sar and Ji-Sung Park.
