Although Ferguson admits the tour was important for promoting the club in the region, he feels it hampered his preparations for the season.

‘‘We always analyse these Far East trips and they’re not the best preparations to be honest,’’ he said.

‘‘The players can’t move. They’re stuck in the hotel all the time. They go out of the door and there are thousands of fans there.

‘‘It’s fantastic and we have to do it, but we really need to look at condensing it, making it an in-and-out situation.

‘‘It’s no preparation whatsoever, but from a fans’ point of view and the fact that the Far East is an emerging market for United, it has to be done.

‘‘In the main I agree with it, but we have to think about it more carefully next time. It’s 15 days we’re away that’s a long time.’’

Ferguson claims the effect on his team was apparent when they lost 2-1 to Liverpool in the Charity Shield in August.

‘‘The players were playing catch-up in terms of fitness at the start of the season. The games are played at a certain pace, not leisurely, but the opposition aren’t the best and there’s no real edge to it,’’ he said on MUTV.

‘‘We got to the Charity Shield and you could see the difference in fitness as they were ahead of us in terms of games. You always get that indication at the start of the match and we were 2-0 down before we knew where we were.’’

As valid as Ferguson’s comments are, they ignore the fact that United strolled to the Premier League title in 2000 even though they toured the Far East and Australia that pre-season, while Liverpool also visited the Far East last summer but showed no ill effects.