How do you try to turn things around after a miserable season? How does one attempt to reverse the momentum of a campaign that ended on a massive downslide? You hit the ground running and you do it early, which apparently is the plan of Ole Gunnar Solsksjaer as he enters his first season full season as permanent Manchester United manager.
According to ESPN, Solskjaer plans an early training camp, which could commence as early as July 1. (So there you have it, the team could be back at it in just six weeks or so from now. The main reason for the early start?
Poor fitness levels in the players.
In the eyes of Solskjaer and his staff, the team just wasn’t in the right physical shape, and that does explain why they completely collapsed at the end of the season. Perhaps the team was just gassed. According to ESPN FC:
“Solskjaer and assistant Mike Phelan were struck by the unsatisfactory fitness of the majority of the players when they were given interim control of the team in December.”
United have a very full preseason friendly schedule to try to work the kinks out. The summer tour will take them to Australia, China, Singapore and Wales. The Reds will face Perth Glory, Leeds United, Inter Milan, Tottenham Hotspur and AC Milan this summer.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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