'The Holy Grail' - Manchester United's first step on the road to Sir Alex Ferguson dominance

Manchester United needed a title. It had been 26 long years and as the Premier League era dawned in August 1992, the memories of a painful second place finish were still fresh in Old Trafford minds.

United had come within a whisker of ending their title drought in the final campaign of the old first division. Sir Alex Ferguson's side finished four points behind rivals Leeds United, after a stuttering finish not helped by fixture congestion.

It meant the weight of expectation was heavy on the squad ahead of a new season. But by May and a landmark title success, that weight had been lifted.

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Speaking 30 years on from a pivotal campaign in United's history, defender Gary Pallister, who was an ever present that term, recalls just how much of a milestone the success really was.

"Listen, it was the Holy Grail," he said, speaking to MEN Sport via aceodds.com. "It had been 26 years without winning the title which, for a club like Manchester United, the size of club that it was, there was no real threats - except Liverpool in terms of football - but the size of Manchester United, it was still seen as the biggest club in the world. One of the top three biggest clubs in the world. It had gone 26 years without winning the title. So, yeah, it was just getting the monkey off the back, wasn't it? It was laying that ghost to rest.

"We came close the year before when we got pipped by Leeds. We had to play, I think it was four games or five games in 10 days, whatever ridiculous amount of games it was, it was crazy."

United's start to the inaugural Premier League season could not have gone much worse with back-to-back defeats against Sheffield United and Everton leading to a