Rio Ferdinand believes a thorough pre-season workout
over the next few weeks will be crucial to United's chances of
success in 2009/10.
The Reds embark on a four-game tour of Asia late
next week and Rio says the conditions and varied opposition in the
Far East will provide ideal preparation for the long campaign
ahead.
"The most important thing about pre-season is getting some good
training done," the Reds defender told MUTV. "One of the
main reasons we’ve been successful in the last few years is because
we’ve had a good base from pre-season.
"It takes a bit of time to get acclimatised to the humid conditions
in Asia, but it’s a good exercise to play against different teams
that pose different threats."
First up for Sir Alex's men is a game against a Malaysia XI on
Saturday 18 July. During pre-season in
2001, the Reds thrashed a team
largely comprising Malaysia Under-23 players.
And next week's opposition will be similarly youthful after coach
K.Rajagobal named only four senior players in his 28-man training
squad. Rajagobal believes the experience of facing United will
benefit his younger players in December's South East Asian
Games.
"I hope everyone understands that the national team's main
objective is the SEA Games, involving the U-23 players," he
said.
More than 65,000 tickets for the friendly at the
Bukit Jalil Stadium have been
sold already and tour organisers ProEvents expect a complete
sell-out.