THIS TIME WE’RE GUNNAR
DO IT RIGHT VOWS MATIC
NEMANJA MATIC admits Manchester United cannot afford a repeat of last season’s shambolic campaign, writes David McDonnell.
United finished in sixth place, failing to reach the Champions League and ending up a whopping 32 points behind champions Manchester City.
The Red Devils – who sacked Jose Mourinho midway through the season, replacing him with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – lost five of their last nine league games, including 2-0 at home to relegated Cardiff on the final day of the season.
It was United’s joint-worst finish since ending up seventh in 2013-14, the season after Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down, with the 20-time league champions now at arguably their lowest ebb of the modern era.
When United finished sixth under Mourinho in 2016-17, they at
least won the League Cup and Europa League – to gain entry to the Champions League – but last season they ended up emptyhanded for the second year running.
Matic knows there cannot be a repeat of last season’s lame effort and admits United’s players must be mentally and physically ready for the campaign ahead.
“We need to be focused from the first day, to be prepared physically and mentally for the season,” said Matic.
“The mood is always great. But last summer, because we had the World Cup, we didn’t have as much time to rest. This time we’ll have more days off.
“I’ve had many hard preseasons, especially when I started playing in Serbia.
“We had some old-school coaches there – one month without the ball, just running. I don’t think Ole will do that.”
Matic is enjoying the summer break before returning for pre-season training with United on July 1, with Solskajer’s side flying to Australia six days later to begin their summer tour.
United will play two games in Perth, against Perth Glory and Leeds, followed by Inter Milan in Singapore and Tottenham in Shanghai.
The Reds will then face Kristiansund, Solskjaer’s home club, in Oslo, before taking on AC Milan in Cardiff in their final warm-up game before the new season kicks-off on August 10.
The new Premier League fixtures are published today.