Manchester United employ Sir Dave Brailsford’s marginal gains strategy for US pre-season tour

Manchester United have seemingly adopted Sir Dave Brailsford’s marginal gains strategy in an effort to ensure the players perform at an optimal level during the club’s ongoing US pre-season tour.

Erik ten Hag and his stars jetted to Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon as they aim to step up their preparations ahead of the upcoming 2024/25 campaign.

According to The Daily Mail, it appears that Sir Dave Brailsford’s philosophy of marginal gains appears to have influenced the club’s plans for the tour.

Brailsford is perhaps best known by the wider public as the individual who transformed the fortunes of British Cycling under his ‘marginal gains’ thesis.

The cycling chief’s principle emphasises that by improving every aspect of an entity or institution by just one per cent, massive changes can be achieved when they’re ultimately married together. It was largely expected that this is something United would look to implement as INEOS go about the business of trying to restore the club to its past glories.

The Mail reveals, “United’s physical performance team have prepared a detailed plan so the squad can recover from the 11-hour flight and adapt to the eight-hour time difference as quickly as possible.”

“When the United contingent arrived at their hotel early on Wednesday evening, they went for dinner and the players were kept up as late as possible before going to sleep.”

“The United stars are wearing individually tailored compression garments to increase blood circulation after the flight from Manchester to LAX on Wednesday. They have been given designated windows to eat and sleep, with bespoke meals being prepared by chef Omar Meziane and the club’s nutrition team.”

The newspaper adds that a hydration plan has also been put in place to help the players cope with the hot California weather.

Additionally, training sessions at UCLA have been structured to ensure the team gets plenty of natural light at the best time of day to combat jet lag.

Among the travelling party that made its way to the US was Brailsford himself, chief executive Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox.

The Red Devils are set to open their tour against Arsenal on July 27  before facing off vs. Real Betis on July 31. The team’s final meeting will see them play Arne Slot’s Liverpool on August 3.

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