Squad cancels Cheltenham trip

UNITED players cancelled a planned trip to the Cheltenham Festival this week following their Champions League elimination.

United suffered a 2-1 defeat to Sevilla at Old Trafford on Tuesday night ahead of tomorrow’s home FA Cup quarter-final with Brighton. The cup now represents United’s only chance of silverware, with City two wins away from claiming the Premier League title.

M.E.N. Sport understands United players had arranged to visit Cheltenham for a day at the races on their fixed day off on Wednesday but decided against the trip following what was one of their most humiliating European Cup eliminations.

Mourinho refused to haul United players into their Carrington training base on Wednesday despite the defeat. The manager’s rationale is players are bound to take defeats badly and by summoning them in for an unscheduled training session he would exacerbate their domestic climate.

The United manager’s fixed days off policy quickly endeared him to players last season. The United manager’s predecessors Louis van Gaal, David Moyes and Sir Alex Ferguson all reserved the right to haul United players in for training if they had they suffered a defeat.

The Reds were due to return to training yesterday as they prepare for the tomorrow night’s visit of Brighton, who are 11th in the Premier League.