Sir Alex: Players raring to go

United's players were relieved to get back in action against Celtic after almost a fortnight of training ground slog, according to Sir Alex Ferguson.

In order to build a fitness base to withstand the rigours of a full season, the players tread some hard yards under instruction from the fitness and coaching staff.

Having put his squad through their paces, Sir Alex revealed they were straining at the leash ahead of Friday evening's opening US Tour victory over Neil Lennon's Bhoys.

"We try and get the preparation to a point where they want to want to start playing games," the Boss told his post-match press conference. "There was a little bit of boredom in the training yesterday (Thursday). They had seven days at Carrington, four days in Chicago and they were desperate for a game.

"That is the one thing pre-season brings on: the desire to start playing games. No one likes pre-season. It does not matter how good it is. Nobody enjoys it because it is rough and tough. It is the hard bit of the game. Thankfully we are on that route of playing."

United overcame the Hoops through goals from Dimitar Berbatov, Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley, and Sir Alex was more than satisfied with the stern test his players overcame.

"The first game is one you want to get out of the road because fitness comes into it, as does the time you give to your players," he said. "I thought we were nearly right. I was pleased some of the performances were good.

"There was a period after Celtic scored they got a bit of dominance over us. That was a period we had to get through. The second goal killed the game. It was a fantastic goal too. A marvellous bit of football from Berbatov.

"Celtic were very competitive. That's been the way when we have played them. There is not a lot in it between the two teams because the Scotland-England thing motivates both sets of players. It was never going to be an easy match."