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Manchester United coach says Hong Kong perfect preseason setting, Erik Ten Hag was watching U16s
- Premier League giants’ Under-16s side played a pair fixtures at an excited Mong Kok Stadium last week
- Leading coach with the English club reveals young players’ progress was monitored by first team manager Ten Hag
Manchester United Under-16s head coach Martin Drury has disputed conventional wisdom, insisting Hong Kong is the ideal destination for preseason preparations.
The city’s unforgiving summer temperatures are routinely advanced as a significant reason for Premier League clubs choosing alternative touring destinations.
But Drury – who had daily contact with senior United figures during his team’s productive trip here last week – maintained the heat and humidity constituted perfect conditions for moulding a possession-based football style.
Drury’s side cantered to a 3-0 victory in their opening match against Hong Kong U18s last Wednesday. But a Hong Kong youth select team proved a far sterner proposition at Mong Kok Stadium on Saturday, twice drawing level before United nabbed the decisive goal for a 3-2 win.
“I have experienced nothing that comes close to Hong Kong in terms of the learning that has taken place for the players,” Drury told the Post. “It has been a very rewarding week. There is loads for the players to take forwards, particularly the way we want to make the game look.
“If you make it a running game in this heat, give away the ball a lot and have lots of transitions and turnovers – which was how Saturday’s first-half looked at times – you end up really tired, which affects decision making.
“We challenged the players over that and they kept the ball much better and made the game look how we wanted after half-time.”
Home-grown players have provided the cornerstone of a good deal of Manchester United’s success, most notably the European Cup won under Sir Matt Busby in 1968 and the wall-to-wall silverware obtained by a team featuring a host of youth products – Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Gary Neville, among them – from the mid-1990s.
The FA Cup final against Manchester City in June marked the 4,208th match, stretching back to 1937, when United included an academy-reared player in their first-team squad.
And current manager Erik Ten Hag is remaining faithful to Old Trafford heritage, according to Drury.
“From the moment the manager arrived he made it very clear he is interested in everybody in the club, whether it is the staff, or players from the first team down to U9, U8 and U7,” Drury said.
“We had constant communication with all the age groups while we were in Hong Kong. There were messages and lots of video content, both from the pitch and of the experiences we were having. We sent links home for them to watch the games and received feedback.
‘It is valuable for coaches to have communication and relationships through the club. But, above all, the players know a first-team pathway exists and people are looking at them.”
Manchester United’s trip was organised in conjunction with Hong Kong Jockey Club. Their players and staff took part in community events and trained alongside their opponents – joined at times by ex-United stars Diego Forlan and Nemanja Vidic. The Hong Kong players, too, felt the benefit.
“Playing against United, seeing their football and even training with them, it’s all unreal,” Hong Kong defender Matt Ng-Brett said. “Meeting [Vidic and Forlan] … gave us motivation to play and something to look up to. Academies in the UK are watching these games, so it’s a really good way to put your name out there.”
The two matches at Mong Kong Stadium were watched by noisy crowds, counted in the thousands.
“Nemanja told the boys, ‘No matter where in the world you are playing for Manchester United, you never know who is watching’,” added Drury.
“Look at the stadium for the matches, it was more than people supporting and being in Manchester United shirts, it was the way they communicated and interacted and connected with the players.
“The players will understand as they grow older – and it is not something to fear – you are always being judged and watched. The importance of being a good human being – the humility and empathy and warmth you show towards other people – outweighs how good you are as a footballer.
“Everything in Hong Kong has been different: the playing surface, the heat, the VAR, the stadium and playing under floodlights. It’s been an amazing experience for us all. The players have represented themselves and the club fabulously and gained an understanding of how much you are connected to the whole world when you play for Manchester United.”
Manchester United Under-16s head coach Martin Drury has disputed conventional wisdom, insisting Hong Kong is the ideal destination for preseason preparations.
The city’s unforgiving summer temperatures are routinely advanced as a significant reason for Premier League clubs choosing alternative touring destinations.
But Drury – who had daily contact with senior United figures during his team’s productive trip here last week – maintained the heat and humidity constituted perfect conditions for moulding a possession-based football style.
Drury’s side cantered to a 3-0 victory in their opening match against Hong Kong U18s last Wednesday. But a Hong Kong youth select team proved a far sterner proposition at Mong Kok Stadium on Saturday, twice drawing level before United nabbed the decisive goal for a 3-2 win.
“I have experienced nothing that comes close to Hong Kong in terms of the learning that has taken place for the players,” Drury told the Post. “It has been a very rewarding week. There is loads for the players to take forwards, particularly the way we want to make the game look.
“If you make it a running game in this heat, give away the ball a lot and have lots of transitions and turnovers – which was how Saturday’s first-half looked at times – you end up really tired, which affects decision making.
“We challenged the players over that and they kept the ball much better and made the game look how we wanted after half-time.”
Home-grown players have provided the cornerstone of a good deal of Manchester United’s success, most notably the European Cup won under Sir Matt Busby in 1968 and the wall-to-wall silverware obtained by a team featuring a host of youth products – Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Gary Neville, among them – from the mid-1990s.
The FA Cup final against Manchester City in June marked the 4,208th match, stretching back to 1937, when United included an academy-reared player in their first-team squad.
And current manager Erik Ten Hag is remaining faithful to Old Trafford heritage, according to Drury.
“From the moment the manager arrived he made it very clear he is interested in everybody in the club, whether it is the staff, or players from the first team down to U9, U8 and U7,” Drury said.
“We had constant communication with all the age groups while we were in Hong Kong. There were messages and lots of video content, both from the pitch and of the experiences we were having. We sent links home for them to watch the games and received feedback.
‘It is valuable for coaches to have communication and relationships through the club. But, above all, the players know a first-team pathway exists and people are looking at them.”
Manchester United’s trip was organised in conjunction with Hong Kong Jockey Club. Their players and staff took part in community events and trained alongside their opponents – joined at times by ex-United stars Diego Forlan and Nemanja Vidic. The Hong Kong players, too, felt the benefit.
“Playing against United, seeing their football and even training with them, it’s all unreal,” Hong Kong defender Matt Ng-Brett said. “Meeting [Vidic and Forlan] … gave us motivation to play and something to look up to. Academies in the UK are watching these games, so it’s a really good way to put your name out there.”
The two matches at Mong Kong Stadium were watched by noisy crowds, counted in the thousands.
“Nemanja told the boys, ‘No matter where in the world you are playing for Manchester United, you never know who is watching’,” added Drury.
“Look at the stadium for the matches, it was more than people supporting and being in Manchester United shirts, it was the way they communicated and interacted and connected with the players.
“The players will understand as they grow older – and it is not something to fear – you are always being judged and watched. The importance of being a good human being – the humility and empathy and warmth you show towards other people – outweighs how good you are as a footballer.
“Everything in Hong Kong has been different: the playing surface, the heat, the VAR, the stadium and playing under floodlights. It’s been an amazing experience for us all. The players have represented themselves and the club fabulously and gained an understanding of how much you are connected to the whole world when you play for Manchester United.”