Manchester United want to 'get off to a flyer', says Sir Alex

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson hopes to see his side "get off to a flyer" when the Premier League resumes next month.

The Old Trafford outfit began the last campaign with six wins from its first seven league fixtures, the best by a Manchester United team since the 1992-93 season.

However, it was dramatically pipped to the title by rivals Manchester City on the final day, as Roberto Mancini's men claimed their first top-flight triumph in 44 years.

Ferguson's side begin the new season with a tricky trip to Everton on Monday August 20, by which point City will have played its first game at home against newly-promoted Southampton.

But the United boss believes the opposition, and not the timing, will be his main concern.

"The Monday night start doesn’t bother me," Sir Alex told the club's official magazine. "That’s not a big factor. The fact it’s Everton away holds much more weight.

"It’s a tough fixture and we’ve not found it easy there in recent years, despite some good results. We can’t complain, though. We had a tough start last season, too.

"We played Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea very early and ended up getting off to a flyer. We’ll be aiming to do the same this year."