Scorching weather in Skopje isn't the only heat at the Super Cup after Manchester United and Real Madrid's spiky press conferences... Mourinho hopes to have last laugh in this glorious setting

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Lost in the haze of Gareth Bale and whether Manchester United will actually lodge a bid to prise him away from Spain stood a couple of Sergio Ramos jibes Jose Mourinho will not care for.

Ramos sat down inside the Philip II Arena the night before this Super Cup final and gave nothing away about Cristiano Ronaldo or Bale. But when addressing the topic of Mourinho, the inferences were not overly cute.

The Real Madrid captain suggested Mourinho did not fully grasp the Bernabeu's dressing room dynamic and, more pointedly, flatly refused the notion that his former manager was crucial in transforming his career with a switch from right back to centre half.

A pair of Manchester United fans pose for a photo in front of Skopje's Archaeological Museum

A United supporter wears a hat clad in Red Devils memorabilia ahead of the Super Cup clash

Real Madrid fans stand below a statue of Alexander the Great in Skopje on Tuesday afternoon

A fan shows off the United club crest in the fan zone set up for Tuesday evening's match

United's players head out onto the pitch at Skopje's Philip II Arena for a training session

'That didn't change my career at all,' Ramos said. 'Mourinho was another coach, as with any coach I've always learned. I've learned a lot of good things but I don't think Mourinho changed my life in football at all.'

This might be a glorified friendly, even more so after UEFA's recent moving of the date from the end of August to pre-season, but Tuesday night will certainly have an edge. The Macedonian heat is not the only punishing aspect to the week after all.

Skopje will not be quite as hot as the last few days by kick-off, with temperatures touching 30 degrees rather than 40 we have seen, yet this is hardly ideal preparation for United just five days before their season gets underway at Old Trafford.

Training inside the stadium lasted under an hour late on Monday afternoon, with several United stars lounged on the turf by the end and Mourinho having already headed inside. Like much of this city's architecture, United felt unfinished.

Jose Mourinho will be desperate to get one over his old team and lift some more silverware

Manchester United flags have taken over parts of the city as Mourinho's men look for a victory

It is a calm setting, but the match itself will be lively with both teams keen to record a victory

Sergio Ramos (left) dismissed the idea that Mourinho changed his career while at Real Madrid

They could do no more, however, and the intensity of their session had been encouraging. Luke Shaw and Ashley Young both played a full part, even in the mini-game refereed by Marcos Rojo.

It is one of Mourinho's many positive traits that he keeps those injured involved and Rojo, nursing a serious knee problem, revelled in wearing a different bib and blowing a stop when necessary. For the record, he allowed the match - played in one half of the 33,460-capacity stadium - to flow.

United's players have had the importance of collecting silverware wherever possible drummed into them by their manager and the scenes will be jubilant later should they edge out Real. Perhaps Mourinho will raise four fingers this time after the three-fingered salute in Stockholm.

It would be quite a setting to achieve that in, with the Philip II Arena overlooked by the breathtaking Vodno mountain, topped by Krstovar peak and boasting the newly erected Millennium Cross which looks down on Skopje.

Manchester United and Real Madrid fans sit side by side in the Skopje streets ahead of the tie

Skopje is hot and humid - not ideal conditions in the lead-up to the Premier League season

Marcos Rojo is injured but he was still given a role as he refereed a training match on Monday

United fans pose with a flag as they spend time in the city ahead of the big match on Tuesday

There is a charm to Macedonia, with an element of kitsch to its nods towards the past. Statues are plentiful, you never seem more than a few yards from one in the city centre, and there is an unashamed celebration of their history which has included obvious heavy conflict.

Now, though, is it peaceful. United and Real fans lined the bars and restaurants of the Vardar river throughout Monday without trouble, milling around the UEFA fan park close by and generally buying into what is a meandering way of life in Skopje - even if the volume of people descending on this quiet city has taken local chefs by surprise.

There will be no surprises later. Mourinho knows what to expect from Real and they of he. His three-year spell in Madrid has not been forgotten and a trophy here will be sweet for either.

The 33,000-seater Philip II Arena will host the Super Cup clash between Madrid and United