What style will Ole's team play next season?

The boss has taken charge this term and admits he has been unable to properly stamp his own influence on the side yet because of the nature of a busy programme at home and abroad since he returned to Old Trafford in December.

While some other teams have a clear identity, and idea of how they want to play, Ole feels the Reds have been too reactive to the opposition and this is something he insists will change after a full pre-season with this squad to implement his ideas on how the game should be played.

"What's the best style?" said Ole at his press conference ahead of the Huddersfield Town game on Sunday. "At Man United, it's to attack quickly.

“It's playing forward, running forward, chasing back, winning the ball back. I'd love and like to get to a set system, but it hasn't worked that way.

“You see the teams that get two or three years together. They know each other. The relationships between the right side, left side, the centre-backs.

“As a football manager or coach, you know that the more time you get to work on relations, the better it will be, because then you're a step ahead all the time instead of, at the moment, we've been reacting too much to the opposition and we want to get to a shape both on and off the ball that we're comfortable with.”

There is clearly much work to be done over the close season, when United embark on a tour of Australia, China and Singapore, but Ole is confident he will have a fitter and sharper squad at his disposal when the new campaign gets under way on 10 August.

"The fitter you are, the more you can do and, with the talent they've got, the fitter they are, the more they can do," he added. "It's a basic principle that I've got and, if you look at the stats over the last few years, I don't think anyone would be shocked and surprised by them.

"So, of course we're going to build on their fitness. It's not going to be like an old military pre-season. As I've said, you've got to be clever about everything.

“We want the best practice, how to get people and players ready for when the season starts. It's not going to be like, how do you say, a boot camp, because we've got to find a way of playing as well.” 

After Sunday's visit to bottom-placed club Huddersfield Town, United finish with a home clash against another relegated side, Cardiff City, at Old Trafford.

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