ATALANTA: MONK EXPECTS STERN TEST

FREEVIEW: PRE-ATALANTA INTERVIEWS 28.7.16

The head coach previews Saturday's Elland Road friendly...

Garry Monk is expecting a stern test when Italian outfit Atalanta BC visit Elland Road for Saturday’s pre-season friendly – and the United boss believes his side will feel the benefit of coming up against a top-flight European team in their final fixture before the new Sky Bet Championship campaign gets underway.

Atalanta, who finished 13th in Serie A last season – just one point short of the top half, represent the most high-profile opposition of a pre-season schedule which has seen United win three of their four friendlies to date.

“They’ll be very tactically astute, they have a good energy and a high class of players playing in a top league in Europe,” said Monk. “We’re expecting a really tough test.

“It’s good for our young players to go through these experiences – that’s why I wanted this game.

“We could have settled for something of less class or something closer to our level, but our aspirations are to play in the Premier League.

“Playing against a top level side will give our players a really good experience.”

Monk is keen to see his side finish their pre-season campaign with another victory under their belt, but the head coach has also underlined the importance of seeing United take another step closer to being ready for next weekend’s opener away to Queens Park Rangers.

“I’ll select a team to hopefully try and win the game,” he said. “We’ve won most of our pre-season games apart from the last one and we want to keep a winning run going.

“We want to put the importance on winning the game, but really it’s about making sure that every time we go on the pitch, we’re getting better, getting that little bit sharper.

“We want things that we’re working on come out a little bit more, which they have been and I’ve been very pleased, and that we get closer to the 90-minute mark of a complete performance.

“That’s always the aim – every manager will tell you that. We’re looking for another step forward on Saturday.

“We would like to put on a good performance. In terms of class, we’re playing the biggest team of our pre-season and that’s the test you want.

“It’s going to be the ultimate test for us going into the new season because of the level of opposition that we’re playing, but we want to take another step forward.

“I think it’s a case of us first showing what we can do, which I’m confident the players will, and also for the crowd to understand us and make sure that togetherness of everyone pushing in the right direction starts on Saturday.

“As soon as we’re here, this has to be a fortress for us. Everyone has to support the team.

“The players on the pitch will be trying to deliver and if they make a mistake or they create a good goal, we have to support them the whole way through. We have to support each other no matter what.”

TICKETS: Click here to join us for Saturday's pre-season friendly with Atalanta at Elland Road! Tickets are priced from just £12 for adults and £6 for concessions!

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