Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has reportedly instructed all his players to show up at training on December 25th. While some players of other clubs will spend the eve of Christmas Day boxing up gifts in the comfort of their homes, the Red Devils will be camped at the Lowry Hotel ahead of Boxing Day's clash with Huddersfield.
According to a source of UK tabloid The Sun, most of the squad members were looking forward to being handed the privilege of spending the night with their respective families. The culture was said to be as such in the days of Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes and Mourinho's predecessor Louis Van Gal as the players were normally made to train in the morning and allowed to depart later on for dinner.
"This year there is not going to be much fun," The Sun's source said.
"Under Sir Alex, the players used to train first thing on Christmas Day and the go home and spend time with their family and enjoy a festive dinner.
"They'll probably have some pasta, pre-training and then spend Christmas Day evening alone in their rooms at the Lowry."
Jose Mourinho himself will reportedly leave for Portugal on December 23 to see his family before he returns on the December 25. In his first season at the club, the former Chelsea manager was denied the request to organize a training on Christmas Day with the club citing that it will not be the best practice for the non-playing staff to work in a day they should be off.
This year, the players are required to be at training at exactly 16:00 BST on December 25 as per the instruction of Mourinho. The Red Devils are faced with the daunting task to at least secure a top four finish following a difficult start to the Premier League season.
The Old Trafford outfit has accumulated 26 points from a possible 48 and is currently eight points adrift the Top four which features Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea respectively.
