Manchester United interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer not thinking past end of season
Written by News on 20/12/2018
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says his focus is solely on leading Manchester United for the next six months and he is not thinking about the possibility of taking the manager’s job permanently.
Solskjaer took his first United training session on Thursday, having been brought in until the end of the season following the sacking of Jose Mourinho.
The former striker will run the first team while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new full-time manager, with Mauricio Pochettino, Zinedine Zidane and Laurent Blanc all linked with the role.
“I’m going to enjoy the ride,” Solskjaer told MUTV. “It’s six months. I’m back home. I’m going to be myself. The club is running a process to find the next manager so I’m going to be myself in the meantime with Mick, Kieran and Michael. We’ll get the players enjoying their football again.
“I’ve had 300-400 games as a first-team manager. I’m confident. I’ve won the league, I’ve won cups, I’ve been relegated. It’s about man management. It’s about managing players, staff and it’s about getting the best out of everyone.
“The boss [Sir Alex Ferguson] will always be the best at that. I get my managerial style from him. He’s been the biggest influence but then again we’re different.
“I’m a different personality. I like to speak to people, I like to engage with people. I want to see people express themselves. That makes me happy.”
Solskjaer, who spent 11 seasons at Old Trafford during his playing career, has returned to United with the club sixth in the Premier League – 19 points behind league leaders Liverpool and 11 points adrift of the Champions League places.
He is expected to face the media in his first official news conference as United manager on Friday ahead of Saturday’s trip to Cardiff, another of his former clubs, and Solskjaer has already revealed he will rotate his team selections.
“Everyone will get a chance,” he said. “Everyone starts with a clean slate. You’ve got to start somewhere. I’ve seen the last few games. You pick a team now and you move on. Everyone will get their chance.
“The amount of games coming up is no problem because we’ve got quality players and they’ll get a chance to show that they’re Manchester United players.
“We’re in a results business and we want to win games. That’s my job to help the players. We want to see them play the football they can do.”
(c) Sky News 2018: Manchester United interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer not thinking past end of season
