Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United have gone out of the way to hire a fleet of private jets all around the world to fly squad members back after their international duties are over.
This weekend is a big one for United with 2 tough games scheduled within 48-hours.Saturday after at 12:45 Manchester United play Sunderland away in the Premier League, then back to Manchester for one-night before the squad travel down on Sunday before their FA Cup replay clash with Chelsea on Easter Monday.
A number of squad rotations are more than likely for both games, a stronger one against Chelsea more than likely.
Speaking with the United Reviews, Sir Alex said:
“Freshness is the name of the game now as we come towards the end of the season and the intensity of vital games coming in quick succession.
“My role becomes even more important in selecting the right teams, with freshness the operative quality. It’s not necessarily putting out your best team, it’s picking the freshest.
“This will be a real problem when the players come back at the end of the international break after playing two games involving long flights, particularly with Chicharito in Mexico [to play USA] and Shinji Kagawa with Japan [who have a World Cup qualifier in Jordan on Tuesday].
“In fact, we’re making arrangements for some players to fly home by privately hired jet after their matches, to make sure they get home as quickly and smoothly as possible.
“Tiredness is a great leveller but we will do our utmost to make sure we field the freshest possible teams. Private planes are going to cost the club an awful lot of money, but it is something we feel we have to do.
“The players who have missed the international trips, like Ryan Giggs, Anderson, Nemanja Vidic, Alexander Buttner and Rafael, will be key players in the run-in. Paul Scholes is back in training and will play a part in keeping us fresh.”
