Sir Alex Ferguson says it could be a blessing that United's first game of the season against Newcastle is on a Monday night, as it will give his players additional time to recover from the midweek internationals.
Several players were on international duty in midweek, including Ji-sung Park travelling to Korea, Javier Hernandez playing against Spain in Mexico, and Rafael travelling to the USA for Brazil's friendly match.
All three players have returned to Carrington with their fellow international Reds and will train with the rest of the squad today. But Sir Alex has made clear to his men that it is imperative that United are quick out of the traps.
"The game being on Monday is a blessing after our players' midweek travels," the Reds boss told reporters on Friday morning. Javier Hernandez was over in Mexico, Ji-sung Park in Korea, Rafael da Silva in the States for Brazil, Jonny Evans in Montenegro, Nemanja Vidic in Serbia. They’ll train today.
"In a normal situation, you’re wondering how they’ll be when they come back and you’re having to wait until the Friday morning to see how they are for the game on the Saturday. But now we’re not playing until Monday, it gives us a couple of extra days to prepare. So I think it’s a bit of a blessing for us."
"The other way of looking at it is that all our major competitors could win on Saturday and Sunday, and you don't want to start the season three points behind your rivals."
United know the dangers of early-season defeats to newly-promoted teams, of course, having lost away to Burnley in the second game of the 2009/10 campaign. So Sir Alex knows Newcastle pose a serious threat.
"Last season we went to Burnley and lost," recalls the boss. "You’re always wary of a team that’s just been promoted because their motivation is obvious. Newcastle – what were they last season? I think they were a team of great work ethic and the manager takes terrific credit.
"[Chris Hughton] wasn’t everyone’s choice to be Newcastle manager, but he did a great job," Sir Alex continued. "He had to deal with all the financial constraints and he sold a lot of players but created a bond with the players he had and they all fought to get out of the division. So I think we’ll find on Monday that Newcastle will come and battle. That’s the first thing they’re going to do and it won’t be an easy game."
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