Manchester United are still operating with a heavy training regime under Ruben Amorim despite their lack of European football giving them scope to have more rest during the week
Ruben Amorim is sticking to a heavy training schedule
Ruben Amorim is sticking to a heavy training schedule
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Ruben Amorim still has Manchester United sticking to a relentless training schedule despite their lack of European football putting less demands on the players.
No midweek European outings would open the door for additional time away from the training ground, but the Portuguese boss still has his players active six days a week. Mondays are their designated day off and on only one occasion has Amorim given his players two days off, reports The Times.
It underlines his desire to get United up to speed following a poor campaign last time out. His unique system also requires extra attention as Amorim remains wedded to his philosophy, which his players must grasp.
The heavy schedule also suggests the United boss wants his players tuned for the return of European football, which will be their target this season.
In a normal week United's stars would have Monday off before a heavy Tuesday session. Wednesday would include more than two hours of work before Thursday's recovery session. Friday would be a shorter, tactical-based approach. Saturday is matchday and Sunday would be recovery.
In an effort to get his United players fully understanding his wants Amorim has confessed to physically walking them into positions, rather than sitting through loads of video footage. He said: "I was a football player. Videos more than 12 minutes? Forget! Because they lose concentration. Instead of video, we do it like walking – and jogging – it’s a way to do it. Showing some video."
Almost all of United's rivals are playing European football of some form this season. Chelsea, Newcastle, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Liverpool are all in midweek action, adding to their schedules, whilst the Red Devils are getting the additional rest.
Man Utd's players are only getting the one day off across the space of a week
Man Utd's players are only getting the one day off across the space of a week
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That could prove to their advantage later in the season. United missed out on the chance to play in the Champions League when they lost the Europa League final to Tottenham last season - but Amorim claims believes they were not equipped to feature at Europe's top table.
“I think we were not prepared to play Europe,” he said earlier this season. “That is my feeling; to have strong games in the Champions League and to play Premier League we need time to develop as a team.
“I said last season we need time to prepare for every game. The games are really competitive and we need to build to our base and then to perform. And then in the future we need to have Europe for everyone to play games.”
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