Usuthu take on the Red Devils in Durban as part of the MTN Football Invitational Tour 2012, and it’s no exaggeration to say that 100 per cent of the focus has been on the English guests.
Palmgren says that is to be expected, though he admits that the occasion has some of his players acting slightly out of character.
“Of course it is a big game for us, but then it is just one of the preparation games,” he told KickOff.com last night at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
“The players have been going full speed – lots of intensity. I have never seen anything like it before. I’ve never talked so much at training and they have never run so much! But they are responding very well.
Asked if there are any nerves amongst his squad, Palmgren jokes: “They [Manchester United] stopped here while we were stretching, so I had to push my guys a little bit to get them off the field! So yes, it will be a little bit tricky I think.”
Overall though, the Swedish coach has been pleased with what the club has achieved during pre-season.
“It’s gone very fine so far,” he says. “We’ve tried to make the team stronger with a few signings. We were looking at four positions and have managed to get three of them, so we’re looking for one more, otherwise I think we are done there.”
He adds: “Our target is to try and be better than last year. We want the top eight at the very least. We fought relegation for five years, but for the last two years we have been in the top eight, so it’s quite ridiculous to talk about trying to stay up.”
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