Cole: Why I loved playing with Laurent Blanc

The Reds' enticing second game of the summer is at Murrayfield in Edinburgh this coming Wednesday (14:00 BST), against a Lyon side managed by Laurent Blanc. Tickets are still available here.

Cole, who made 275 appearances for United between 1995 and 2001, only played in the same team as the Frenchman for six months but it was long enough for the prolific striker to appreciate the World Cup-winning defender's qualities.

“Laurent? Oh man. Laurent was a Rolls Royce,” Andy told us, in an exclusive interview to promote the Lyon match.

One of the undoubted highlights of Blanc and Cole's brief spell together at United, before the latter moved on to Blackburn Rovers midway through the 2001/02 season, was the classic away win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

Sir Alex Ferguson's men were mauled 3-0 in the first half at White Hart Lane but somehow stormed through the second period to triumph 5-3. Andy was the first Red to reduce the arrears, swiftly after the restart, and he was followed onto the scoresheet by Laurent just before the hour mark. But did the forward think at the time that a comeback was on the cards?

“I think we believed that if we could get an early goal, anything was possible,” recalled Cole.

“So to get a goal in - what was it, the 46th minute or whatever - we knew then we had a chance. It was Tottenham.”

Our opponents Lyon are the fifth team to be managed by Blanc since retiring as a player at the end of 2002/03, a season in which he helped the Reds to win the Premier League title.

Twenty years on, he'll manage against his former club and Cole believes the French outfit will provide an intriguing challenge for Erik ten Hag's side in the Scottish capital.

“It'll be a really good test,” assessed Andy. “Ultimately no one wants to lose, even in pre-season.

“I think United always now prepare themselves for European football, that's why you want to take on this kind of opponent in pre-season.

“If you look at my time, some of the games they are playing now, we would never have played in pre-season, because these are really tough opponents.

“But it is what it is now, and I think it's really good that you have the opportunity to play these guys early doors because at some stage in Europe you might come across teams like Lyon.”

Cole admits the calibre of opposition isn't the only aspect that has changed for the better when it comes to preparing for the campaign ahead. As the Treble winner recalls with a grimace, he and his team-mates would tend to return after the summer break with a fortnight of fitness work.

“Pre-season has changed a hell of a lot. When we were doing pre-season, the ball wasn't seen for two weeks!  Now they get the balls out straight away and they're playing a game within a week!”

Would Andy have preferred the modern-day method? “One hundred per cent! Get the balls out from day one. For us to get a football out on the first day... dear me. It was crazy.”

Tickets for United v Lyon in Edinburgh are available from Ticketmaster.

The game will be shown live on MUTV, ManUtd.com and the United App.