'It's a strange season' - Ten Hag reveals Man Utd plans for mid-season World Cup break

• Ten Hag discussed 'strange season'
• United will play two friendlies
• Confirms training camp in Spain

WHAT HAPPENED? With the World Cup fast approaching and less than a month away, the Manchester United manager has shed some light on how the club are preparing to tackle the one-of-a-kind mid-season break. Ten Hag confirmed that United had two friendlies lined up, and spoke further about their plans.

WHAT HE SAID: In an interview on United's official website, Ten Hag admitted: “It’s a strange season.”

He added: “It’s not like usual as we have a World Cup but also players will stay behind. We have to train them during those six weeks and we have to give them the right programme so they stay in the right fitness levels, but also they stay in the right shape and also in the team style.

“We made a programme to do that, as optimum as possible. So, we will train here [at Carrington] for one week, or eight or nine days, and then we will have a short break. Then we will train and go to Spain for a training camp for one week."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: United will play two friendlies during the World Cup break period, with one still to be announced. The Red Devils will play La Liga outfit Cadiz on December 7 while away in Spain, with one eye on their return to action against Nottingham Forest on December 27.

IN TWO PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED? Before the break, Ten Hag's side have a number of big games to play, not least a trip to Real Sociedad where they need a win to top their Europa League group and avoid having to play an extra round of games.