Van Gaal gets 'minimum third place' PL finish ultimatum from Man U bosses

Manchester United football team manager Louis van Gaal has reportedly been informed that he is expected to finish at a minimum of third place in the Premier League this season, with no further substantial additions to the squad following this summer's 153.1 million pounds outlay.

United have revealed how the club's failure to qualify for European football will finally halt their commercial juggernaut, depriving the club of Champions League match day income which now leads the club to predict that their revenue will drop 48 million pounds in the next financial year, from 433.2 million pounds to 385 million pounds.

Even that 48 million pounds drop in revenue is based on United finishing third, the same Premier League target that last year's budget was based on. Executive vice chairman Ed Woodward told investment analysts that their forecast budgets assume a third-placed finish, as is ordinarily the case, The Independent reported.

United lie 14 after the first three games of the season, with two points, five fewer than the early third-placed side, Aston Villa, and seven off top-placed Chelsea.

United have indicated that they are willing to go back into the transfer market and take the calendar year spend on players towards 200 million pounds if Van Gaal still feels his squad is not strong enough.

However, the tone of Woodward's discussion with investors reportedly suggested that there would not be big spending in January and that it would be opportunistic.

Woodward said that they don't intend to significantly increase cap-ex in January, adding that they would continue to monitor in association with the Dutchman, his view of the squad and which areas they want to strength and which areas they want to sell.