00:04The new season's upon us, how are you feeling about the group and how's the squad looking?
00:08Is there anyone unavailable?
00:10Yeah, I feel good, as you'd expect, really looking forward to another season,
00:17they've come thick and fast, so it's about making the most of everything that's in front of us.
00:23I'm really encouraged with the work we've done pre-season,
00:28on the training ground, mostly in the games, I think it's been really good.
00:32So, yeah, I'm very much looking forward to the first game and a tough one on Saturday.
00:37In terms of player availability, is Sesko De Ligt available?
00:40What's the situation with Mason Mount and Carl Darlow as well?
00:44Yeah, Carl's trained this week, he's back training, so he's in good shape.
00:50Mata's obviously been out for a long period of time, but he's training and great to have him back.
00:56He won't be involved, but he's in good shape and moving in a good direction,
01:02so that's really a good bonus for us, really.
01:05At this stage, driving back, Ben's back training, so that's, again, another positive.
01:13Looking forward to having him back around the group and getting him some minutes as well.
01:18And then managing Mason a little bit, but he's very close, so it's a touch and go for the weekend,
01:24really,
01:25if not going into next week.
01:28Michael, with Mason, is there a kind of concern about injuries?
01:34Is that kind of underpinning everything?
01:36Because, clearly, the first three games of pre-season, he was outstanding.
01:41But then everybody says, well, he'll get injured at some point, and then he goes off.
01:45Is that a concern?
01:49I think, first of all, Mason's a top player.
01:52Top player, I think we've seen that so far pre-season.
01:54He's one of our best players in the early stages in the games that he played in.
01:59I thought he was fantastic, so not surprising, it's what I've seen before, what I expect, what I know of
02:05him.
02:07And he's picked up with a little bit of a knock, there's no drama.
02:09Maybe it's been a week or so, or ten days, or whatever it's been, so it's nothing major.
02:16Yeah, of course, he's missed some football over recent years and he wants to be fit,
02:22he wants to be in that full rhythm and he wants to stay fit,
02:25so we're doing our best to help him do that.
02:28But he's a top player, Mace.
02:31It's the same as the squad, we've got to manage the squad.
02:33There's going to be injuries through the season, we've got to have a squad that's strong enough
02:36to have a really good top-starting team with the depth to carry us through the season.
02:41So Mason will be back very, very soon, if not immediately, so it's all good.
02:47Some people have looked at your fixture list and said two newly promoted teams,
02:53that's a favourable start for Manchester United.
02:56You've been around the club long enough to know that United have slipped up in games like this
03:01right at the start of the season before.
03:03How do you see it?
03:04You almost see it as more dangerous because people will think you should win.
03:11First of all, for all of us to know this league, there's no favourable start,
03:17I think it's a tough start.
03:20Both teams, but not getting past Saturday, I think a newly promoted team away from home is a tough, tough
03:28game.
03:28I've been involved in them in the past, so I'm fully aware of what's at stake, what's coming at us
03:33on Saturday,
03:33what we've got to be ready for, so it's not favourable.
03:36I think it's an easy thing to throw out there, but it's pretty ridiculous and certainly we're not taking it
03:41that way at all.
03:44Evening Michael, just a question on Marcus Rashford, I know we did ask you a few questions about him in
03:49Dublin,
03:50but since he's been back, has he expressed any desire to stay at United beyond the deadline?
03:55In just a second if you don't mind, do you see him as an option through the middle as well
03:59as a player on the left?
04:01It's been pretty obvious since Marcus came back training with Kobe and Leitcher, pretty much in Dublin.
04:10He's come back fantastically well, he's enjoying his football, he looks fit, he looks sharp, he looks strong,
04:16he looks ready to play football, so I've been delighted with him since he's came back.
04:21Yeah, of course he can play through the middle, he has done, I wouldn't say it's naturally his number one
04:28position,
04:28but he can do that and I think we've got forwards that give us that flexibility right across the front
04:33line
04:33that we've used all of them pretty much in slightly different roles,
04:38so I think for us to have that option is really good moving through the season, obviously.
04:42Just on the transfer window, the club being heavily linked with Coles for Labour,
04:46but I just wonder how busy do you expect the club to be between now and the deadline?
04:51Do you still see left-back, with Luke Shaw as essentially the only first-team left-back in the squad,
04:57an area you'd like to strengthen?
04:59I just think we're looking to strengthen the squad, we're certainly working towards that
05:04and making the most of the situation that we have and trying to improve things and trying to move forward.
05:09I said the same thing to you last time, so certainly trying to make the most of the opportunities
05:15to finish the window stronger than we went into it and I think we're in a good way to doing
05:20that so far.
05:22Hi Michael, it's 13 years since United last won the title,
05:27what's it going to take to get over the line? Could you do it this year?
05:33It's going to be a jump, I mean, I said to you, whatever I say, it doesn't really matter, you
05:37know,
05:38whether I say we can or we can't, I would never say we can't by the way, I don't believe
05:41that,
05:42but whatever I say, it's about what we do, you know, and what we can do, what we're capable of
05:47doing,
05:47what we believe we can do as a group.
05:50I think the run of form that we had last season gives us a lot of confidence,
05:53but then we know there's a whole new step to make as a group.
05:59We're pushing to do that, you know, it's exciting, I think we've got the potential to achieve things
06:03and we're definitely giving everything that we can and we've got to believe that we're a good team
06:09and we can do good things.
06:12Just on the game, Hull are obviously sort of devoid of pressure really, United never are,
06:18but are they in a way an unknown quantity because of the number of new players?
06:25Well, that's the beauty of the new season, you know, I think certainly for teams coming up in the league
06:32and for the most part there tends to be quite a few changes within the group, the playing group,
06:37so it's always the challenge when you're playing against them, there's that freshness,
06:42there's that buzz around the football club of coming into the Premier League and what that brings.
06:48So again, we're fully aware of that, we'll be prepared obviously, mentally and physically we've done a lot of work
06:55anyway,
06:55but mentally we'll be prepared, we know what the game's going to bring and how good we need to be
06:59to get the right result.
