Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson believes Chelsea's Carlo Ancelotti will continue the success of previous manager Guus Hiddink. "Carlo will take up the baton from Guus Hiddink." Ferguson told The Times of India.

"Although Carlo has his own system of playing, with a diamond in the middle, Chelsea have a lot of experience and a lot of terrific players," he explained.

"Chelsea will be strong. Keeping John Terry will make them stronger, no doubt about that. He's experienced, he's England's captain and he's a good centre half."

The Scottish tactician also acknowledged that Manchester City could present a threat to his side and the other 'big four' this season.

"I think ourselves, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal are looking at what is happening at Manchester City with great interest," he added.

"We're all looking to see whether it will work or not after the money they have spent. There's a lot of interest in that from all of us.

"It's difficult to break into the top four with the consistency and quality that the top four have got. Don't forget that over the last few years those teams have competed in semi-finals and finals of the European Cup.

"It's a great consistency that. They're talking about Barcelona and Real Madrid starting to dominate again (in Europe) but I have my doubts on that. I think those four (Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal) are strong teams."