Carrick: One Eye On Swansea

Michael Carrick says the players are determined to make the most of a busy week of matches to boost their fitness, with the opening game of the league season against Swansea edging ever closer.

The Reds flew out to Sweden on Monday ahead of their meeting with AIK Fotboll on Tuesday night – the final match of Tour 2013 presented by Aon. Rio Ferdinand’s testimonial follows on Friday night at Old Trafford, before a meeting with Wigan at Wembley in Sunday’s Community Shield.

While some Reds have remained at the Aon Training Complex to work on their fitness, others who missed the first leg of Tour 2013, including Nemanja Vidic and Nani, have made the trip to Stockholm in a bid to get more minutes on the clock following some practice matches behind closed doors. And Carrick says Tuesday’s game against an AIK side right in the middle of their season will provide David Moyes’ men with just the test they need as the away trip to Swansea draws nearer.

“Now is the time when you really start thinking about that first game of the season,” the midfielder told ManUtd.com. “We’ve been back from the main part of the tour for a few days now and everyone is focused on that first game.

“It’s about being ready for every game though and Tuesday’s will be a good opportunity for some of the lads that haven’t played too much recently and also for the lads that have played to get some more minutes in. It helps with your fitness, your general play and your overall sharpness.

“These games are always a test because you’re often up against teams who are pretty fit whereas we’re still building our fitness up and not quite where we want to be yet. That’s the purpose of being here and we want to make sure we perform and play well because we have great pride in ourselves and also want to represent the club in the right way. And we want to continue to make sure we are ready for that first game. We’ve got a busy week but it’s an important one for us.”