The U’s played an in-house game, took some time off, and worked on tactical bits and pieces, all of which will hopefully bear fruit on the pitch.

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Discussing the international break, United head coach Buckingham said: “It’s been good. We had a practise game here at the training ground, an internal one where we got a chance to not just see them in training, but to see them within the game and the framework that we have, so that was really useful.

“We also managed to get a couple of days off into the group. It’s been 12 weeks that we’ve been together, so to mentally and physically get a refresh, it was only a three-day break, but it’s amazing what three days does for people when they come back into the building.

“It’s also allowed us to work on some additional areas, whether it be those who joined us late in the window, to get them up to speed, or whether it’s to give some further clarity to those that we brought in during the summer, to get them where we need them.”

Away for most of the last couple of weeks though were six players on international duty.

Ciaron Brown (Northern Ireland), Marselino Ferdinan (Indonesia), Mark Harris (Wales) and Greg Leigh (Jamaica) were in first team action, while Ben Nelson and Dane Scarlett represented England’s ‘Elite League’ side, formerly the Under-20s.

Buckingham said: “I watched most of them, and I saw Mark Harris get called on, on 80 minutes, and it was a great moment for him to be back on the pitch.

“They weren’t 10 minutes that I watched quite comfortably and freely, so to see him and everyone else come back in and report well, and most of them have trained.

“The only one we’re waiting on is Greg Leigh, who was in the air, but will train on Friday.”