Sheringham plays down Treble talk

Teddy Sheringham has admitted that Manchester United are unlikely to secure another Treble this season even though their hunger to win trophies burns as strongly as ever.

The striker was at pains to stress just how difficult it is for United to maintain their domination of English football.

But rather than revealing worries about the future, he was simply making it clear just how much hard work and determination actually goes into staying ahead of the pack.

Sheringham, who has reignited the battle for places up front at Old Trafford after returning from injury at Fulham with the winner, bridles at suggestions that the Premiership is becoming too predictable.

Despite their 11-point lead at the top of the table, he underlined the fact United are only in that position because of their strong desire to continue achieving success.

That spirit was again evident at Craven Cottage as United were outplayed for long periods of their FA Cup third-round tie on their return to the competition before Sheringham's late strike sealed victory.

United, who are well placed in their Champions League group and at home in the FA Cup fourth round to West Ham as well as forging ahead in the Premiership, are now on course in all three major competitions.

However, when asked if a second Treble in three seasons was a realistic possibility, Sheringham declared: "I don't think so.

"Obviously we will try and do it again as that's the nature of our team. We've in all these tournaments and we want to win them.

"It seems okay at the moment but we had an awful lot of luck in the year we won the Treble. Not luck exactly, but we rode our luck and we dug deep."