Erik ten Hag has revealed he will begin to give Manchester United's players more game time, starting with the pre-season game against Crystal Palace, in a bid to build fitness levels ahead of the start of the new campaign.
United play their third pre-season game against Patrick Vieira's side in Melbourne, following a 4-0 win over Liverpool in Thailand and a 4-1 victory over Melbourne Victory at the MCG — where today's game will also be played.
Ten Hag has so far favoured a policy of giving players 45 minutes each in pre-season games. He changed his entire outfield team at half-time in each of the opening two matches, and was asked about changing that policy against Palace. READ MORE: Follow United vs Crystal Palace with our live blog Asked by MUTV before the game about when he will start to give players more minutes, the United boss explained: "Today, today a lot of players will take a step to 60 minutes.
That is the concern today. The fitness has to build and this is a good opportunity to do that." On United's general progression with their performances in pre-season, Ten Hag added: "I see progression from day to day and that has to be because 7 August, we have to be ready for Premier League.