ManUtd.com - 22/07/2010 11:36
Phelan pleased with progress
Reds assistant manager Mike Phelan on United's pre-season preparations...
This year we’ve done things a little differently. We all returned to work a little bit later than normal and decided we'd have fewer days at Carrington before the pre-season tour. Normally we'd train for about two weeks before going on tour. This time we knew there were good facilities in the US so we switched our training base to America and flew out a bit earlier to take advantage.
We've now had a good 10 days of solid training, with a game against Celtic and a game against Philadelphia, too. From here it becomes a little more hectic, a bit like what we’re used to on tour. Now we're in and out of places quite quickly and we’ll soon settle into a routine of travel, train, play, recover.
The players are making progress each day. Every time we have a session they’re looking sharper and livelier. We've altered the training times a little because of the heat out here and it seems to be working. We have an early morning start and a late evening session, so the players get plenty of rest during the hot afternoons.
Each session begins with a good stretching and warm-up session. We get the players out of their beds early, then we get onto the field and do some running in order to get the stamina side of things up. Then we move onto the football and also do some gym work. The facilities out here have been first-class and we've enjoyed working morning and afternoon.
Building up fitness is a slow process, though. When we're on tour we try to make sure we do plenty of hard work and play to the right tempo during the games. Our goal is to make sure everybody returns to Carrington fit and ready for the Community Shield.
Of course the matches are important. It's vital the players treat them as a high-tempo environment. Yes, they are still working towards full fitness. And yes, they'll feel a little fatigued during games. But they know they have to work through that. We use them wisely and sparingly in some games and then we start to build it up and give everybody a few more minutes.
There's a good blend of youth and experience in the tour squad – people who have won things and people who are determined to win things. We've got people out here who are on their first real pre-season tour with the first-team and then others, like Giggsy and Scholesy, who are probably on their 15th. When people like Rafael and Fabio look at Ryan, Paul and Edwin van der Sar, they see some very good role models. They know that if they work hard and maintain a healthy appetite for the game then they can achieve similar things.
Last season obviously ended disappointingly. To be pipped at the end wasn’t what we had hoped for. But it just goes to show that if you’re not on top of your game in this league then other teams will take advantage. This season we hope to challenge again – remember, the younger lads are all a year further on in their development and have learnt some valuable lessons. We could be in for a very good season.