UNITED DODGE U.S. MARATHON
LVG insists on short tour to boost title bid
LOUIS van Gaal believes Manchester United will hit the ground running in their attempt to win the Barclays Premier League next season after persuading the Old Trafford hierarchy to agree to a short and sharp pre-season tour of America in July.
After last summer’s mammoth trek across the United States, the angry United manager vowed that it would never happen again on his watch and still believes that the effects of the pre- season schedule cost his side dearly when the real action started.
Now Sportsmail can reveal that Van Gaal and United have turned down offers from Asia and Australia and are about to sign off a visit to America — in all likelihood to the West Coast.
The trip will last about 12 days — a full week less than last summer’s trip — and will be over by August 1.
While rivals such as Manchester City are trekking around Australia, Van Gaal’s United will operate out of one base in the US and travel to their games from there.
The club have agreed once again to take part in the International Champions Cup that they won last summer by beating Liverpool in the final in Miami.
The tournament is played across the US but this time the promoters have essentially allowed United to choose their own venues as they are desperate to have England’s most famous club take part.
Details of the competition were supposed to be announced last week, with United given a provisional deadline to commit to their schedule by last Friday. However, the announcement has been put on hold while Van Gaal and United tweak final details. Last season, Van Gaal joined United after Holland’s World Cup campaign in Brazil to find the club committed to a two-and-a-half-week slog comprising visits to Los Angeles, Pasadena, Denver, Washington, Detroit and, finally, Miami.
The Dutchman was furious at an itinerary that he felt demanded too much of his players, who were constantly asked to fly into different time zones and even play at altitude in Colorado. Having to then play the final in Florida during a thunderstorm was the final straw.
For long periods of this winter’s negotiations, Van Gaal and United seemed set to commit to a schedule on America’s East Coast. It is understood, however, that Van Gaal has recently performed a volte face and expressed a preference for the more agreeable climes in the west. Van Gaal has insisted this time that his team will travel to match venues from one base and will have no repeat of the arduous treks endured to play in Pasadena and Ann Arbor last year.
One possible base is the Seattle Seahawks training camp on America’s Pacific North West coast.
The 2015-16 Premier League season starts early this year, with the competition kicking off on August 8.