Players Handed Deserved Break

Sir Alex Ferguson will give his players a well deserved day off on Tuesday as part of their sunshine break in Saudi Arabia.

The Reds are enjoying a four-day training camp in the Middle East which also included Monday night's friendly game against Al Hilal in Saudi legend Sami Al-Jaber's testimonial.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez were both on the scoresheet, but United went down 3-2 in front of a 65,000 sell-out crowd at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh.

After a day's relaxation on Tuesday, the players will train again on Wednesday before heading home to prepare for Sunday's FA Cup fourth round tie against Tottenham.

Sir Alex admits he was disapppointed by Monday's defeat, but insists the Reds' mid-season trip has been a successful one overall.

"We're satisfied," he said. "It was a great experience in terms of a different kind of atmosphere than we're used to.

"Even though we were relaxed, we still want to compete as best we can, so we're disappointed to lose.

"We're resting on Tuesday," he added. "Some of the players will stay by the pool and get some sun, some will play golf. I'll certainly be playing golf!

"Then we'll have two training sessions on Wednesday before heading back home. Hopefully all the players will feel refreshed."