'Carrington is like our second home'

The upgrade to the facilities at the complex is helping to build the right environment, with morale certainly sky high this week, following the brilliant 2-1 victory at Liverpool last time out.

Dalot played his part in the Anfield triumph, again showing his versatility by operating on both flanks, and the Portugal international is clearly enjoying the surroundings as he looks to ensure the Reds make it three wins on the spin by beating in-form Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.

"It [Carrington] is becoming a bit more like our second home and that’s the way it should be," he told United Review, the official matchday programme in an exclusive interview.

"The players and staff want to be around the place a little bit longer. It’s important because we are, apart from our personal families, the ones where this is like our second home. And if you feel well in your place of work, you will perform better – but this is something that has to come.

"It’s from inside of you every day to come here and look at this facility as something you should not take for granted because it’s a privilege for you to have the quality of these facilities.

"I think we have everything here to perform. We should find that way of [saying] okay, we have everything that we need to win the game, so we just have to win games."

The 26-year-old is feeling settled at the club, after arriving from Porto in 2018, and even accepts he is something of a Mancunian these days.

"100 per cent," he replied. "I think the city is my home. I said this a couple of times where, every time I come here, I feel that I am actually at home. That’s normal when you’ve been here for a long time, that bond I’ve created with the city, with the fans, and with the club.

"I just feel at home, and I think that there is no better feeling than when you come here and you are feeling at home."

Dalot is something of a student of the game and acknowledged he has played against Brighton a number of times, it will be 12th occasion this weekend, tying with Liverpool for his most frequent competitors in a United shirt.

He even has a goal against them, after scoring in the away win over the Seagulls at the end of the 2023/24 season.

"They are one of the teams I’ve played most," he said of Saturday's visitors to Old Trafford. "They’ve been really good in the last couple of seasons, playing good football. So I’m not expecting anything less than that.

"I’m looking forward to the game. These are the types of game that challenge you and push you even further."

Read the full interview with Diogo Dalot in Saturday's official programme, United Review.