MANCHESTER United will top the pre-season bill at the County Ground after Andy King persuaded Sir Alex Ferguson to send his Premiership champions to Wiltshire.

The Red Devils will arrive in town on Tuesday, July 29.

However, there are no guarantees that Ferguson will include all his big guns as Manchester United are due to play several games in America at that time.

But whatever the starting line-up, King is delighted to be hosting such prestigious opponents.

King said: "I'm not sure who will be coming but it will be a Manchester United representative side.

"I think it's a fixture that players and supporters will look forward to."

The Town boss was due to watch Manchester United reserves against Middlesbrough last night, with Jimmy Davis among those expected to be on show.

Still on the pre-season front, Harry Redknapp's Premiership-bound Portsmouth side will visit the County Ground on Friday, July 25.

King said: "Portsmouth have said they will be sending their first team, so again, we'd hope to have a decent crowd."

Wolverhampton Wanderers have already confirmed that they will play Town on July 16.

So while King is hoping to see several Premiership stars on on show in July, his own attempts to unearth the new David Beckham or Ruud Van Nistelrooy ended in failure yesterday.

After two days of trials involving both English and French players at the County Ground, King was left extremely unimpressed.

He said: "The standard was very, very poor.

"Because people are not good enough for West Ham, Aston Villa or Derby, they assume they will be good enough for Swindon Town.

"It doesn't work that way. Unless people at their previous clubs are stupid, they don't generally let the good ones go.

"Of the 60 plus who attended the trials, I will probably have a look at one English lad, a young striker from a Midlands club again, and a French striker.

"But now I am just waiting for the PFA released list to be produced.

"Then the phone will start ringing and agents will be on telling me what great players they have.

"I have irons in the fire regarding one-year loan deals from Premiership clubs but it's too early to say whether they will come off.

"After that, I'm with everyone else, looking at free transfers to see if I can find someone to suit my needs."

One player who definitely won't be part of King's squad next season is striker Eric Sabin.

The Frenchman is hopeful that a move to Queens Park Rangers will be confirmed once the men from Loftus Road have completed their play-off campaign.

He said: "The manager is still very positive about me."