"In the seasons we have done well in the Champions League we have managed to keep ourselves up in that top three or four until it came to last season, but we are a point better off at this stage than we were last year and three better off than the year we won the Treble," said Ferguson.
"You have still got that gap between Arsenal, Liverpool and ourselves," he added. "One would have been all right, but being two makes it harder for us.I think December is going to be a crucial month for us. Once you get to the New Year and the FA Cup you begin to see the shape of the league, you can almost pick your winner from that."