Sir Alex Ferguson has warned his rivals that Manchester United will not be going anywhere in the next few years.

Ahead of Monday's Manchester derby, the 71-year-old has challenged his players to win a hat-trick of Premier League titles starting from this season.

The Red Devils are currently 15 points ahead of city rivals Manchester City at the top of the table, and Ferguson believes that his squad is in good shape for the future.

"We're not going to go away," said Ferguson. "Whether we can go on a run of three titles in a row, who's to say? But the material is there.

"We know how to build teams here, and we've got a lot of youth in the team. There are maybe 14 players under 23 who could play together for the next seven or eight years. I would expect us to have a real good challenge next year too.

"We'll have players who are maturing nicely. Rafael [da Silva] has proved how much he has developed this season, while David de Gea's progress in goal has been superb. Shinji Kagawa will be a batter player next year too."

United welcome City to Old Trafford on Monday evening at 8pm.