Manchester United held crisis talks with Sir Alex Ferguson the summer before they won the 1999 treble, former chairman Martin Edwards has revealed.

United's success in the 1998/99 season earned Ferguson a knighthood after the Scotsman won the Premier League title, FA Cup and Champions League.

After Arsenal won the double in 1998, Edwards says the club were concerned they would fall behind their rivals.

“At the time we felt we'd slipped a little bit, having won the double two years before," the former chief executive Edwards told talkSPORT as part of a special documentary called 'Football, Bloody Hell! How United won the Treble'.

Edwards added that Ferguson returned early from his holidays to hold crisis talks with the club, but they were pleased with the Scotsman's fiery response.

“That was shown by the way he responded," Edwards added.

“At the end of the day, these things happen in businesses and in football clubs, but as long as you come out on the right side it's justifiable."