Can cycling's Mr Detail weave his magic at Man Utd?

Dave Brailsford is hoping his formula for success can transform fortunes at Old Trafford

- Matt Majendie

SIR DAVE BRAILSFORD once had the floor of the British Cycling team truck painted white to spot dust more easily. The thinking was the quicker any impurities were identified, the quicker they could be cleaned up thereby not adversely affecting the bikes.

A surgeon was brought in to teach riders the proper way to wash their hands to avoid illness, long before it became commonplace with Covid. And mattresses and pillows were transported to competitions to ensure athletes' sleep was not affected. Such nuggets are part of what became known as "marginal gains", and there are myriad examples.

There have been sceptics including one of the recipient's early success stories in Sir Bradley Wiggins, a gold medal winner on the track and Tour de France winner on the road. He once labelled marginal gains as "a load of old rubbish".

But Brailsford still sticks by the philosophy of success being improved by an accumulation of a multitude of incremental factors, an approach that is likely to make its way to Manchester United.

The 59-year-old has been tipped to join Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Joel Glazer on a three-man board deciding football matters once Ratcliffe's 25 per cent stake in the club is finalised.