Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is relishing the prospect of meeting Manchester City head on next season.

Sir Alex Ferguson - Sir Alex Ferguson revved up for City challenge

United are set to be dislodged from their perch as Premier League champions by City, who many feel will go on to dominate for years to come. Fuelled by the wealth of Sheikh Mansour, City have the resources to sign any player and provided they beat QPR on Sunday they will enter negotiations as winners.

Ferguson is aware of the challenge ahead, but is excited by the prospect of rebuilding at Old Trafford.

"We are certainly not going away, that's for sure," Ferguson said. "We know that there's a challenge and we accept that. We have a lot of young players at the club who will benefit from this season, no matter what happens.

"City aren't going away. With the money they have to spend, they will obviously go out and buy more players. But you can only buy so many and you can only keep the balance for so long before it disrupts.

"We have our ideas about where we are going in the summer. And I think that we will be ready for the challenge next year. Whether that is as champions or as runners-up, we will be ready for it."