Dalot prepared for marathon season

United will welcome Wolves to Old Trafford on Monday night, for what will be the final game of the opening round of matches in matchday one of the Premier League – with the Reds already set to be playing catch-up on our rivals.

The prospect of a summer night under the lights at the Theatre of Dreams is one that excites Diogo, but he’s very much conscious of needing to both start well, and remain consistent throughout the season.

“It’s always exciting in the first few weeks of the season,” expressed our no.20, who signed from FC Porto five years ago this summer.

“You always want to start well, you obviously have the dream of arriving to the final part of the season fighting for the Premier League and for trophies, so we obviously want to have that in the back of our mind.

“But we know this is the long marathon during the season and we want to be as consistent as we can.

“It starts with small things in training, in the dressing room, and then on the pitch, we have to win games. This is what it is all about, and we have to start well.”

United arrive fresh from our final two, back-to-back pre-season outings, played last weekend – with a 3-1 win over RC Lens in M16 on Saturday, before a 1-1 draw against Athletic Club in Dublin on the Sunday.

Diogo, who appeared in the Old Trafford outing against the Ligue 1 side, feels the pre-season period has provided him and his team-mates with valuable preparation for competitive action.

“I think the pre-season set us up well, in a good mood energy wise to start the season well and we know the importance of starting well and winning the first game,” added the Portugal international.

“I think it can give us momentum for the next couple of games and we are fully focused on Wolves to start the season well.

“The same as every season, I try to get as much preparation as I can in pre-season and work hard, like my team-mates, and the be ready to play.

“That’s why I’m here, that’s why I play for this club, a good season last one, but now we want to step up, everybody. Every individual wants to step up a little bit more, me included.”

While the initial focus is on Old Trafford, an aim of Diogo’s, this term, is to improve on our away form – especially with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur among the opponents we’re set to face on the road in our first five Premier League matches.

“The fixtures will always be hard, no matter the opponents we get,” continued Diogo. We know how the PL works, but obviously if we get good results in those games, it will give us even more energy to show that we can compete.

“I think we have to show that on the first game, that we can win straightaway, and then we can think about the rest.

“I think the standard for this club is every game you have to win it and that will be the biggest difference for me in this season, we have to win more games, especially away from home.

“We have to be more consistent and maintain that fortress that we built at Old Trafford and put that on to the away games and try to be as consistent as we can.”