UNITED TRAIN AHEAD OF LEICESTER MATCH
FEATURES
22/08/2017 12:00, Report by Matt Bullin, Mark Froggatt
PICS: UNITED TRAIN AHEAD OF LEICESTER MATCH
Our cameras were at the Aon Training Complex on Tuesday morning to capture Jose Mourinho's Manchester United at work, ahead of Saturday's Premier League match against Leicester City.
The Reds are currently top of the table following consecutive 4-0 wins over West Ham United and Swansea City, which means spirits are high in the camp. Morale has also been boosted by Luke Shaw and Ashley Young both returning from injury with the club's Under-23s on Monday night, as well Marcos Rojo being back among the group as he continues his own rehabilitation from a serious knee problem.
Tuesday morning's training session was photographed by our snappers and also broadcast live on MUTV, with former United striker Andy Ritchie in the studio to provide his analysis of the players involved.
Here are three standout points from the ex-Red...
THE PLAYERS ARE PUSHING EACH OTHER
“It looked like a light, fun session to keep that air of optimism. It is nice to see Marcos Rojo around the group, as well as Luke Shaw and Ashley Young after their game with the Under-23s. It looks like a happy group. You want the squad players to be on the coattails of those who are starting. You want that competition. We have a great squad and virtually two or three players for every position. They are all onside together, even though some are not playing, and there is no negativity – which is key."
“It looked like a light, fun session to keep that air of optimism. It is nice to see Marcos Rojo around the group, as well as Luke Shaw and Ashley Young after their game with the Under-23s. It looks like a happy group. You want the squad players to be on the coattails of those who are starting. You want that competition. We have a great squad and virtually two or three players for every position. They are all onside together, even though some are not playing, and there is no negativity – which is key."
POGBA IS SETTLED AND CONFIDENT
“I always felt it would be difficult for Paul in his first season back at the club because of the enormity of the transfer fee, the expectation of everybody who wanted a season like he just had at Juventus, and just people thinking he would blitz the Premier League. That just does not happen. He still had a good season, but he perhaps thought he had to look like a £90million player. I think he has settled in now and he is comfortable where he is. He is not trying too hard, which I think he did last season at times. The scary thing is that we have at least five or six years of him in his prime yet.”
“I always felt it would be difficult for Paul in his first season back at the club because of the enormity of the transfer fee, the expectation of everybody who wanted a season like he just had at Juventus, and just people thinking he would blitz the Premier League. That just does not happen. He still had a good season, but he perhaps thought he had to look like a £90million player. I think he has settled in now and he is comfortable where he is. He is not trying too hard, which I think he did last season at times. The scary thing is that we have at least five or six years of him in his prime yet.”
LET’S TRY TO BLITZ LEICESTER
“Harry Maguire does look a proper threat from set-pieces and we know they will try to get in behind us, with Jamie Vardy stretching the defence. Then you have Shinji Okazaki buzzing around and not giving you a moment of piece. If Rihad Mahrez is on board then he can be a massive threat for them as well. Is he totally right in terms of his mentality though? He was involved in one of the goals at the weekend, yes, but still has a lot of transfer speculation surrounding him. It is a difficult game, but let's attack them and try to blitz them like we did against West Ham and Swansea at the weekend.”
“Harry Maguire does look a proper threat from set-pieces and we know they will try to get in behind us, with Jamie Vardy stretching the defence. Then you have Shinji Okazaki buzzing around and not giving you a moment of piece. If Rihad Mahrez is on board then he can be a massive threat for them as well. Is he totally right in terms of his mentality though? He was involved in one of the goals at the weekend, yes, but still has a lot of transfer speculation surrounding him. It is a difficult game, but let's attack them and try to blitz them like we did against West Ham and Swansea at the weekend.”
Click the main image above to see the full gallery of United's latest training session.
