Louis van Gaal has ditched Manchester United’s tradition of hosting a pre-season friendly at Old Trafford in a bid to avoid a repeat of last season’s opening day defeat.
READ MORE:
Read the latest Manchester United transfer gossip!
Real Madrid David De Gea latest: Man Utd stopper drops biggest indication yet of imminent Bernabeu move
Real Madrid to block Manchester United star’s transfer to Nou Camp rivals
The Red Devils lost 2-1 to Swansea City in van Gaal’s first game in charge at the Theatre of Dreams, and the Dutchman placed blame on a heavy summer schedule for the defeat.
This summer, however, the former Netherlands manager is determined to have his senior squad in the best possible shape ahead of their first clash of the 2015-16 campaign against Tottenham Hotspur on August 8th.
Not only have the Premier League giants cut the travel of their pre-season tour, but there will be no friendly at Old Trafford days before the new term kicks off, the Daily Star report. Only four days before the start of last season, United faced Valencia in what could have been key in their poor start under van Gaal.
They accumulated just five points from their first five games in what was a miserable start to his career in England.
Crowds of 60,000 people are usually attracted to the traditional friendly at Old Trafford, but the 63-year-old isn’t interested in entertaining the club’s fans this summer.