Scott McTominay

Dubai: What the United players are saying

Wednesday 09 January 2019 16:51

Scott McTominay, Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard have been reflecting on an enjoyable and hugely beneficial training camp in Dubai, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Manchester United squad get set to face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

The squad once again trained at the hugely impressive Nad Al Sheba complex for around 90 minutes on Wednesday and afterwards, the aforementioned trio of players sat down with us and discussed the importance of a trip like this from a fitness and team-bonding perspective.

"It’s a good time for the squad to get away and have some really good bonding time," explained McTominay, "but we've also been able to work really hard on different formations and different ways we want to play against bigger teams in the games coming up."

The players' famous competitiveness came to the fore in a small-side training match, and a group featuring the likes of David De Gea, Andreas Pereira, Marcus Rashford, Diogo Dalot and McTominay emerged triumphant.

McTominay was part of the winning team in a training game on Wednesday.

"Every session we’ve had so far has been very, very competitive," added Scott. "You expect nothing less from the boys – they’re the same every single day in training, whether it’s in Dubai or back home in England or in another country. We always give 100 per cent."

His victorious team included the four youngest players on the trip - Tahith Chong, James Garner, Angel Gomes and Mason Greenwood. Reflecting on the game, McTominay told us: "The young boys were on flames!

"It was a good round-robin [tournament at the end]. It’s good for the boys to have a bit of fun at the end of an intense session, especially in the heat."

McTominay's fellow midfielder Pogba joined up with his team-mates on Tuesday in the Middle East, after initially staying behind for treatment on a knock, and the midfielder says the players have put in some vital work on the training pitch so far.

"It’s not a holiday, we came here to work," said the Frenchman. "We don’t get this kind of weather a lot in Manchester, so obviously to get this weather and vitamin D is always good. It’s good for the head.

"The training is intense as we’re preparing for a big game [against Tottenham], so we need to be ready. We've had good conditions to do some hard work and when we go back we’ve got a fresh mind and fresh air and we come back to focus even more."

The players are put through their paces by Gary Walker, the club's head of strength and conditioning.

Lingard echoed those sentiments and talked about the importance of being able to spend quality time together away from the training pitch too.

"We've had some downtime and free time obviously to get to know each other better," said Jesse.

"It's been a great bonding trip for everyone, especially for Ole to get to know the players. The whole trip has been a great experience."

MUTV will broadcast its third special 'United In Dubai' show at 18:00 GMT today (Wednesday). Remember to download our official app for more exclusive content from the trip.

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