United News | The reds are going to Ireland

Anyone else really starting to hate these long breaks without football 

It looks like the team have plans for this one though

Author | Lee Francis

We will head to Ireland for a four-day training camp just outside Dublin at the start of April as preparations ramp up for the final push of the season.

It has been a stop-start campaign for United, with long breaks creeping in due to the lack of European football and that early FA Cup exit in the third round. This current pause is the longest yet, and it is clear the focus now is on making it count.

There had been talk of a friendly in Saudi Arabia, but that idea faded quickly and has now been shelved altogether. Instead, the squad will stay closer to home and put in the hard yards on the training ground.

With no match until Leeds United arrive at Old Trafford on 13 April, Michael Carrick will take his players to a base around half an hour outside Dublin from 6 April. The plan is simple: a focused, intense block of work to get the squad sharp for the final seven games.

It looks like the younger lads will stay behind. The under-21s have a big Premier League International Cup quarter-final against Real Madrid at Old Trafford on 7 April, so they will not be part of the trip.

Watch | Some of the younger players that won't be heading to Dublin

The stakes are clear heading into the run-in

Despite the frustration of that controversial draw at Bournemouth, United are still in control of their destiny. Four wins and a draw from the final seven games should be enough to seal a return to the Champions League. That is the target, and this camp could be where the foundations are laid.