Manchester United defender Phil Jones has lamented the "difficult" festive period for Premier League teams and said that United are grateful to have time off from playing.

Jose Mourinho's men played 11 games in 34 days over the Christmas period, but now have a week to prepare for their game against Stoke City next Monday.

The United camp will travel to Dubai for a period of warm-weather training before flying back ahead of the fixture at Old Trafford.

"For sure it's been a difficult period, especially for the body," Jones told The Mail. "We are not robots. It is difficult around the Christmas period with the amount of games and the travelling that you have to do.

"We are not asking people to get the violins out but it is difficult. As a player you have to be wary of that and and focus on recovering well for each game.

"It's difficult to train normally. It is all about recovering between the games, then playing the matches."

United currently sit second in the Premier League table, 15 points behind leaders Manchester City.