Manchester United have set a target of finishing in the top three of the Premier League this season, the club's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has revealed.

Woodward said a top-three finish was what club chiefs had budgeted for this season — and he also played down the possibility of further new signings in January to boost Louis van Gaal’s squad.

He said the club are "at the start of something special" under van Gaal despite admitting income will fall by up to £48million as the price for missing out on Europe.

Woodward announced record revenues of £433.2million for last season, while it was revealed the club paid out £5.2million in compensation payments to sacked manager David Moyes and some members of his coaching team.

The United vice-chairman said in a conference call with club investors: “Our budgets assume a third-placed finish, as is ordinarily the case.

“The 2013-14 season was a very challenging and disappointing one. But under Louis there is a real feeling at the training ground that we are at the start of something special.

“We are very excited about the future and believe it’s the start of a new chapter in the club’s history.

“I’m confident with Louis as our manager, with a clear philosophy and a reinvigorated squad, we will get back to challenging for the title and trophies.

"His track record for delivering top level teams speaks for itself. We've had an excellent summer having signed Angel di Maria, Daley Blind, Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera, Marcos Rojo and Radamel Falcao on a one-year loan."

Asked about the prospect of more ‘cap-ex’ — capital expenditure on new players - in January. Woodward played down the likelihood.

He said: “We don’t intend to significantly increase cap-ex in January. We will continue to monitor in association with Louis his view of the squad and which areas we want to strengthen and which areas we want to sell. The usual three in, three out is par for the course in the numbers in and out each year, typically in the summer.”

The annual figures also show that the club made a £23.8million profit, down from £146.4million in 2012/13 but that huge sum was entirely due to a one-off tax credit from USA assets of £155million.

United’s wage bill rose 19 per cent to £214.8million, an increase of £34.3million “primarily due to the impact of player acquisitions and renegotiated player contracts”, according to the annual report. The figures reveal United’s sponsorship income increased by 49 per cent last year with a number of new deals coming on stream. Woodward said the new £750million adidas deal was a major boost for the club.

He added: “Commercially we continue to go from strength to strength. The record deal with adidas underpinned our attempts to compete for the next decade.

“The £750million adidas deal is a record, not just in football, but in all

sports. This is the culmination of four years of hard work. We had offers from more than 20 companies around the world.”

Manchester United Figures

-record annual revenue of £433.2million for last season; this is the club’s total income and does not include outgoings such as wages, taxes and transfer fees.

- current season’s estimated revenue to be £385m to £395m, a drop of £38m to £48m as a result of missing out on Champions League.

- profit of £23.8m; this is down from previous year’s £146.4m but that huge sum was entirely due to a one-off tax credit from American assets of £155m.

- underlying profits, known as EBITDA and used as a guide to the health of a company, were £130.1m for 2013/14, compared with £108.6m the previous year, but these are expected to fall to £90m to £95m next year.

- £5.2m is the cost of the compensation paid to sacked manager David Moyes and some members of his coaching team.

- United’s wage bill rose 19 per cent to £214.8m, an increase of £34.3m.

- United’s sponsorship income increased by 49 per cent last year with a number of new deals coming on stream. Commercial income now makes up 44 per cent of the overall revenue.

- Spending on new players was £78.9m net, including the signings of Juan Mata and Maroune Fellaini but not those who have joined since June such as Luke Shaw, Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao.

- The gross debt — which dates back to when the Glazer family bought the club - is down to £341.8m from £389m, and the cost of servicing that debt down to £27.4m. In 2010, five years after the takeover, the debt had risen to £710m from an initial £660m. Since 2010, large chunks of the debt have been paid off.