Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said he will take the plight of other clubs into mind should his club head to Hull next week with the title already in their pocket.

It is expected United will clinch their 18th championship by avoiding defeat to Arsenal at Old Trafford on Saturday. However, if the Red Devils achieve that goal, it would render their final game at the KC Stadium meaningless.

For Ferguson, it seems like the ideal scenario — offering the opportunity for a full weekend of rest ahead of the Champions League final against Barcelona in Rome on May 27. Yet United are also very much aware that fielding a much-weakened team could effectively hand three points to Hull and help ensure the survival of Phil Brown’s team at the expense of Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesbrough or West Brom, who are all fighting for survival at the bottom of the league.

Then-Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock condemned Ferguson for playing a number of youngsters in their final game against West Ham two years ago, when Carlos Tevez scored to keep the Hammers up.

However, Ferguson insists he will take the views of Hull’s rivals into account before deciding what team to field.

“I can’t approach the Hull game until we get this [Saturday’s] match out of the way,” he mused, before admitting that he planned to field the best team possible next weekend.