Ryan Giggs has insisted that Manchester United need to have a fast start to the season to compete for the Premier League title.
Louis van Gaal's men struggled to find their form early in the last campaign as they took just 13 points from their opening 10 matches, which left them well off the pace of champions Chelsea.
The United assistant boss says that his team need to be at least in the mix with their title rivals after the opening months of the season in order to bring the top-flight crown back to Old Trafford.
"The manager has said it that 13 points from the first 30 wasn't good enough. It is hard when you start like that. You need a better start," Giggs told the Manchester Evening News.
"It is not just these days, Sir Alex Ferguson has said it in the past. You cannot just hope to get going later on you have to be up and ready from day one of the season. You saw Chelsea get out of the blocks quickly a few years ago and we had to change our thinking and had to make sure after that we didn't have a slow start.
"All the challengers and rivals will be sharp and ready to go. That is what we have to do. You don't have to be leading the pack at New Year but you have to be close and we certainly have to be closer than we were last season if you want to be there at the very end."
The Red Devils have added Memphis Depay, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin and Matteo Darmian to their squad this summer.
Simon Sinclair
