Kenyan marathon runners and All Blacks rugby stars may be drafted in to speak to Manchester United’s players as Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS seek to bring the glory days back to Old Trafford.
In a wide-ranging special report ahead of next week’s expected confirmation of the petrochemical billionaire’s 25 per cent stake in his boyhood club, Mail Sport can also reveal:
Insiders say INEOS are keen to use expertise from their stable of interests in other sports, including running, rugby and Formula One.
Ratcliffe’s firm are performance partners with the New Zealanders and medics from the All Blacks camp have already worked with Nice, the Ligue 1 club he owns in France.
In recent times marathon runners from the INOES-backed NN group have also given talks to All Blacks players on mentality and endurance. The prospect of both heading to the club’s Carrington base at some point is thought to be likely.
Meanwhile, with a move for Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth to become sporting director expected over the coming days, United are also considering an approach for Southampton director of football Jason Wilcox.
Under the guidance of Ratcliffe’s right-hand-man Sir Dave Brailsford, a visit from the All Blacks and Kenya’s best long-distance runners at United’s Carrington training complex is a realistic possibility.
Brailsford has harnessed his ‘marginal gains’ philosophy in other sporting ventures and when Eliud Kipchoge, from the INEOS-backed NN professional running group, broke the marathon world record and went sub two hours in 2019 he did so on the back of aerodynamic advice from those within INEOS’S sailing (INEOS Britannia) and motor racing (Mercedes-AMG F1) ventures.
At INEOS-owned Ligue 1 side, Nice, Kenyan running coaches have been introduced to give tips to players on pace explosions and being quicker off the mark.
Similarly, when wing-backs at the French club began to suffer from a muscle problem more common with the stop-start nature of rugby than football, medical experts from the All Blacks were brought in to assist in treatment and prevention.
