The trophy is yet to be handed out - yet Sir Alex Ferguson already has a steely glare on next year's Premier League campaign.
In an interview for the official Manchester United magazine, Ferguson has confirmed the Red Devils will be "competitive" in the transfer market this summer, even if they lack the funds to match Chelsea and Manchester City.
"We're not Chelsea or Manchester City in terms of money but we're competitive," Ferguson told Inside United. "We've been doing a bit of work over the last three or four months, targeting who the players are that we feel could enhance us, make us better or help us maintain the level we're at. Hopefully the players we bring into the club in the next year or so will be of the quality we need."
That planning is already under way is no surprise to former United skipper Bryan Robson, who was invited into Ferguson's inner sanctum in the immediate aftermath of that championship-sealing triumph over Aston Villa last week.
"I was in Sir Alex's office on Monday night after the Villa game," said Robson. "He is talking to me about next year, and how he is going to improve things to make sure they are better again.
"That is what he is like. He is not even celebrating the night. He is thinking about next year."
Ferguson coined the phrase 'unique freak' to sum up Ryan Giggs' 13th title triumph.
Yet the exact same words could sum up his own drive and determination, which for a 71-year-old, Robson accepts is simply astonishing.
"He is so used to it, it is almost like he is immune," said Robson. "You are not talking about managing somewhere normal. It was bad enough at Middlesbrough and West Brom where I was. But they are smaller clubs compared to Manchester United.
"Yet he seems to thrive on it. That is what makes him as good as he is."
Source: PA
