YAWN

Unless Sir Alex Ferguson's side can reverse positions with Arsenal over the final seven games, for the second season running they will start their campaign with a potentially hazardous Champions' League qualifier.

Aside from an immediate £2m loss in revenue from the world's most lucrative club competition, it also raises the threat of elimination before the tournament proper even begins, an unthinkable prospect for Ferguson and the United chief executive, David Gill.

With the likes of Lokomotiv Moscow, Hajduk Split, Dynamo Kiev and Partizan Belgrade, conquerors of Newcastle in the 2003-04 qualifiers, all likely to be lying in wait, Fletcher acknowledges the need for automatic qualification.

"It is vital we qualify for the Champions' League by finishing second. We do not want to be going to Eastern Europe for a qualifier with no competitive games behind us to play a team who have already started their season and are fresh.

"The Champions' League is a massive competition for us and any slip-up at that stage would be disastrous. There is a high expectation level here, but that is one of the reasons why you want to play for Manchester United. Everyone was disappointed in training yesterday because we realise we are in a battle for second place now.

"We were hoping Chelsea would slip up, but that looks highly unlikely now, so we have to try and get above Arsenal. And don't forget, we also have the FA Cup to play for.

"Maybe at the beginning of the season we look towards the Champions' League and the Premiership but the FA Cup is a massive competition and we want to defend our trophy."