Inside day one at United's training base

Pre-season may be being conducted exclusively in the United Kingdom this year, but there's a distinctly overseas feel about conditions here. With the temperature exceeding 30 degrees Celsius throughout the afternoon, it's hard to believe we're still in England!

There were similar conditions, of course, at Pride Park yesterday, as the Reds got preparations for the new campaign under way with a 2-1 win over Wayne Rooney's Derby County.

And, with 23 of the players from our 27-man squad for the training camp involved at some stage in the East Midlands - goalkeepers Matej Kovar and Nathan Bishop didn't play, while Daniel James and Scott McTominay have joined up late - Monday was a lighter day.

After resting and conducting media duties in the morning, the lads looked in relaxed mood as they met up at 15:00 BST before heading down to the pitches for some ball work, such as one-touch and volleyball exercises.

Alex Telles took the opportunity to pull out some tricks too, which you can watch in the video below.

They then enjoyed a session in the gym - thankfully, with air conditioning installed! - which you can see more of in our gallery above.

United legend Andy Cole is present at the camp and, in a new episode of The Debate, he joked that the players would find it tough this week as they regain their fitness and reiterated that this is no holiday.

“Me and pre-season weren’t the best friends,” Coley said. “That’s part of the reason why I retired to be fair, because pre-season would kill me off.

“I keep touching on the weather but when you are doing pre-season at this time of year, it is really, really difficult. Pre-season is difficult at the best of times anyway, but when it’s a little bit hotter than you’d expect, you know, it’s a lot tougher.

Due to COVID-19, it’s not the summer trip to Australia, the United States or similar that we’re used to, but Coley reckons the lads will still enjoy being away with each other in such a great location.

And he thinks the significant contingent of young players could find it especially beneficial.

“Stunning surroundings, lovely place. Like you’ve said, they’ll come here and they will work really hard.

“But it’s always nice to know you can work hard and chill out in nice surroundings afterwards, so I think they’ll really enjoy it.

“[It’s a chance] Especially for the younger boys, integrating themselves into the first team.

“They’ll be thinking about the possibilities for the start of the season. Will Ole involve them or look to move them out on loan?

“For the younger pros, I think it’s good for them to know what the senior pros are about.”