Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has spoken for the first time since his players returned to the Aon Training Complex last week.
by Sam Carney
The squad have been observing strict social distancing rules as they work in small groups, as you can see from our training video below, and the boss believes the players are in good shape as preparations continue for the potential return of the Premier League next month.
“We’re back in training which has been great. The boys have been fantastic, the weather’s been good and they’ve enjoyed it,” Ole said in an exclusive MUTV Group Chat interview, which you can watch on ManUtd.com and in the Official App from 16:00 BST.
“Hopefully now we’ve proved we can do this safely and we can move to the next step. It’s been really enjoyable being on the training ground again.
“Everyone’s looking sharp, everyone’s been in with a good mood and we’ve been splitting up in groups so [working in] fours and fives together and they’ve really done well. Hopefully, they can as I said, step up and go to bigger training groups but so far it’s been good.
“The players have been looking after themselves. They’ve done well. Charlie [Owen] the fitness coach, Kieran [McKenna], Michael [Carrick] and Martyn [Pert] have been on to them all the time. They’ve not had many days off!
“There have been video calls and of course the last couple of weeks they’ve been stepping it up.”
Among those pictured in action last week were Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford, who have recovered from the injuries which had kept them sidelined for a significant period of time prior to the suspension of football in March.
Solskjaer is happy with how both have coped so far and, assuming everything goes well, says they should be available for selection when the Premier League does restart.
“They’re looking good, they’ve joined training now and they’ve done everything the other boys have been doing. No reaction so far, touch wood,” added Ole.
“When we get started, it looks like we can have a full squad to choose from.”
Two months training alone at home may have been difficult for the players, but Ole praised his side’s mentality and believes they’re ready to make the step up to full contact training, whenever it is safe to do so.
“That’s what you do when you’re a footballer, you just want to play football. Of course, the first step now has been coming together, obviously in small groups, but they’ve enjoyed that.
“I think when we start training in full groups, of course we need a bit of time to gel again, but they’re mentally ready and physically they look okay too.”