Manchester United are in the midst of a 24-day break without fixtures as a result of the Premier League pausing for international matches and the Reds early exit from the FA Cup

They say a week is a long time in football, Manchester United’s 24-day break from action feels like an eternity.

Michael Carrick’s side are in the midst of a lengthy break from matches as a result of the international break and United’s early exit from the FA Cup. The Reds haven’t kicked a ball in anger since a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on March 20.

United were left angry by refereeing decisions on the south coast after they were denied a penalty moments before the Cherries made it 1-1, before seeing Harry Maguire concede a penalty and be given a red card to allow Bournemouth to level for a second time.

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Despite being pegged back twice, Carrick feels United are primed to enjoy a strong finish to the season. Speaking after the draw at Bournemouth last time out, he said: “We’re in a good place, you know. We are in a decent place. We know it’s for now. Of course, we need to take the breather, and some lads, obviously, a lot of boys going away and come back strong.

“And we’ve got a big finish to the season, you know, we’ve put ourselves in this position through some good work, some good results, and some good performances. We’ll come back stronger after the break.”

When the top flight returns, United will welcome Leeds United to Old Trafford. Carrick and Co will be keen to maintain the momentum built up during his 10-game run as boss, with United losing just once in that time.

But the lengthy wait for a fixture means that is easier said than done, with the majority of United players having travelled with their national teams, while others have had a mixture of training and time off.

The scale of this mid-season pause is uncommon and presents Carrick and United with a new challenge. The boss felt the 13-day break United had last month ahead of the game at Everton was beneficial for the players given the change in management at Old Trafford and the adaptations that came with it.

This time around he could do worse than look at how he and the United staff managed the 2019-20 campaign, which was paused in March due to the pandemic.

Carrick was assistant to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the time, and when football paused the Reds were unbeaten in five games and chasing a top four finish and place in the Champions League, just as they are now.

On that occasion United didn’t play for more than three months, but when the top flight resumed they pieced together a nine-game unbeaten run, winning three, to see off the challenge of Chelsea and Leicester, who they beat in a final day showdown for the top four – and secure third spot.

Once again United are hunting a top three place and when they return to action will have seven games to try and achieve it. Carrick will hope his players can again hit the ground running.