Sir Alex Ferguson was up early on Tuesday morning in South Africa, after a 12 hour flight direct from Manchester the day before.
Rio Ferdinand was also present at the press conference which was held in Durban ahead of Manchester United’s match vs AmaZulu FC on Wednesday night. The team also hold an open training session for fans this evening.
During the press conference Sir Alex confirmed that the squad to take on AmaZulu FC will be a mix of experience and youth, with Robbie Brady getting a chance to impress at left back.
The reds boss also confirmed that Shinji Kagawa will make his Manchester United debut playing up front with Javier Hernandez.
Below are the official quotes from manutd.com:
“The priority is to get the experienced players fit but young players will play in each game. It’s likely that Kagawa will start with Chicharito.
“Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes will play. So too Anders Lindegaard, Lingard and Brady at left-back. Antonio Valencia will play.
“Brady is an outside-left but we believe there’s a possibility he will develop into a left-back. It’s an area which we’re paying attention to as Patrice Evra has played an average of 45 games in the last few seasons. So it’s important for Fabio to get experience at QPR because, touch wood, Evra is never injured.
“The opportunities weren’t there for Fabio and he needed more opportunities. With him away at QPR, we’re a bit short at left-back so that’s why we’re trying Brady there. We also have Tyler Blackett with us. He’s a strong boy, tall and quick and he has time on his side. He is here for the experience.
“We expect a difficult game. AmaZulu will be well motivated to play us on such a special day [Nelson Mandela day].
Barclays Premier League opener at Everton next month.
“We expect a difficult game,” Sir Alex predicted. “AmaZulu will be well motivated to play us on such a special day [Nelson Mandela day].
“The first thing we always try to do with the pre-season tour is to get everyone fit and try to avoid injuries. The priority is to get the players match-fit. That gives us a platform to say that, come the first day of the season, we are ready.”
