Round the M60 motorway from the city, take a right and soon enough a left. Then it's down the long drag down the road to Carrington. Past the new builds that doubtless weren't sold with a view of the power station on the specification, past the horses sheltering under blankets when they really need wellingtons and onwards to the smallest of signs and the man in the hut by the barrier. Welcome to Manchester United.
It is always surprising how bleak the Carrington Training Centre can feel from the outside. The antithesis of what traditionally lay within.