Eddie Thompson has invested �2.5m of his own money

Thompson was speaking to BBC Sport after picking up an OBE for his achievements in retailing.

"We are ninth in the league at the moment and must improve that," he said.

"A top-six finish is vital for this club in terms of cash flow and from an image point of view. Anything less than that is unacceptable."

Thompson even spoke with the Queen of his frustrations at Tannadice when Her Majesty inquired about his interest in football.

"She was obviously prompted by the gentleman behind her, but she asked me how the club was doing," he said.

We seem to have turned the corner at the moment and must keep that moving forward Eddie Thompson

"I don't need to make any comment about what I said, but she did remark that she understood football was full of ups and downs."

Thompson has, indeed, had a frustrating time since buying the SPL club, whose fans are hungry for a return to the title triumph of 1983 and long European runs during that decade.

"The chance of going back to the mid-80s glories, that will never happen," said the chairman who has sacked Alex Smith, Paul Hegarty and Ian McCall since taking charge in 2002.

"But we have some very good talent on the park and coming through."

Thompson admits to having put �2.5m of his own money into the club.

"With the kind of investment we have made, we require a top-six finish basically every season," he said.

"I believe my board and the majority of the management team at Dundee United take the same position as myself.

"But I should make it clear that my ambition is a minimum of a top-six place."

Asked if he thought a top-six place was still possible this season, he said: "I'm not over-confident.

"But we seem to have turned the corner at the moment and must keep that moving forward."

There have been doubts in recent weeks about the future of current manager Gordon Chisholm.