Inside the £50m Carrington revamp that could take Man United back to the top

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As Sir Alex Ferguson unveiled the plaque at the redeveloped training ground to the long-serving receptionist, Kath Phipps, celebrating “the welcoming heart of Manchester United for 56 years”, the club’s greatest manager recalled how she would sort the letters on his messy desk. One pile of them, Ferguson chuckled, consisted of abusive ones.

Ferguson was in charge when United opened Carrington. “It was state of the art, back in 2000,” said chief operating officer Collette Roche. United believe it is again now, after a £50m revamp, paid for by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, opened this week. “I'd be interested to see any other training grounds that are as good as this,” said Roche. It is within the same building, but a far cry from the facilities that Cristiano Ronaldo claimed were stuck in time when he returned to the club. The ground floor, Ratcliffe said damningly, “was a slightly gloomy place, a gloomy rabbit warren. It felt like you were in a hospital in the basement.” Perhaps United’s injury list in recent seasons compounded that feeling.

After an expensive makeover, Ferguson noticed some differences when he was given a tour. In his day, the cult of the manager’s office was at its strongest. Now Ruben Amorim will spend more of his working time in open spaces, along with his coaches and director of football Jason Wilcox. There are offices available to United’s powerbrokers but the idea is that they are accessible; the redevelopment was designed to create a collaborative environment.

Ferguson approved. “Something that Sir Alex always said to me was that Manchester United's like a family and you knew everybody, you knew everyone's name and you see them every day. And he said this looks like something that is achievable now,” said Roche. An attempt to change the culture of an underachieving club has begun at a place where they will spend much of their time. “Ultimately, we're talking about our second home,” said Diogo Dalot. It has more windows, which Ratcliffe felt they needed. “Sir Jim has been a really big advocate to the extent of signing off every single plan and how many windows we've had,” Roche added.

open image in gallery Carrington is now considered a "world class" facility by Sir Jim Ratcliffe ( Foster + Partners )

United have taken note that they delivered it on time and on budget, which they hope bodes well for their plans for a new stadium. “There were lots of naysayers,” said Ratcliffe who, even as the team slumped to 15th in the Premier League, has always insisted United should be best in class. “This is one of the most recognised brands in the world, it stands shoulder to shoulder with Coca-Cola and Apple,” he said.

United looked at some of the market leaders. They studied the facilities at the Los Angeles Rams NFL team’s training ground; they looked, too, at Leicester City’s much admired complex while goalkeeper Tom Heaton was consulted about St George’s Park, the FA’s headquarters.

open image in gallery Sir Jim Ratcliffe cuts the ribbon during the reopening ceremony at Carrington ( PA )

One of the more notable changes was the introduction of smart urinals, which will tell players if they are dehydrated. There are sleeping pods, dry flotation tanks and a scanner that can give player a complete body scan in seven minutes. A high altitude training room can reduce the amount of oxygen and alter temperature and humidity; should United find themselves preparing for a fixture in Mexico City or La Paz, they can acclimatise them.

If one of the objectives is to improve their fitness record, there is also scope for players to relax: a pool table and an F1 simulator, while a padel court is being built. The United squad pushed for it; Dalot is thought be the best player. Infamously, too, there is a room for a barber next to the dining room, though a hairdresser has not been added to the United payroll. That dining room also contains a model of both the new Old Trafford and the current ground.

open image in gallery Manchester United's past accolades on display at Carrington ( Foster + Partners )

There are trophies on the walls leading upstairs, a reminder of United’s glorious past. Indeed, the message “Glory Glory Man United” is displayed in a huge font on the ground floor. It is not the only example of the heights they used to reach. The motivational messages on the gym wall include "we rise to the challenge", "we are never beaten" and "we never stand still".

The more cynical interpretation of last season is that they did not rise to the challenge, were often beaten and didn’t stand still because they were regressing. In mitigation, their training ground doubled up as a building site then. “I think walking back through the door having been out for a year, we've all been blown away,” said Heaton. Dalot added: “Sir Jim and his team did an unbelievable job. now it's up to us to, on the pitch, also match that standard.” If United underachieve again, they cannot blame Carrington. Dalot added: “The big thing that I like the most is now there's going to be no excuses.”

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