Ole Gunnar Solskjaer aiming higher than top four with Man Utd
Written by News on 29/01/2019
Manchester United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he will not be satisfied with the club finishing in the top four this season.
United were 11 points off the Champions League qualification spots before Solskjaer took over from Jose Mourinho in December, but eight wins in a row later – including six in the league – they now find themselves three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
They are also through to the fifth round of the FA Cup, where they will face Chelsea after beating Arsenal 3-1 on Friday, while they take on French champions Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last 16.
Despite the growing list of tough fixtures, United’s caretaker manager is demanding his team challenge on all fronts and win silverware as well as securing Champions League football next season.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s visit of Burnley in the league, Solskjaer said: “That is not the dream, though, to be top four. For Man Utd you should always aim to win the league.
“We can’t do that this year, but we have to get back to the challenge. We’ve got the Champions League, we’ve got the FA Cup, we can’t just say we’ve got top four and that is it.
“We have to look at if we can win something this year. As I’ve said, I go into every game as Man Utd manager thinking we can win this game.”
Although Solskjaer admits a title challenge is unrealistic this season, he has laid down a challenge for his players to catch Tottenham, who are seven points ahead, and finish third.
He added: “We are sixth at the moment, so we are a way off the top teams. We are challenging to be top three at the moment. I don’t think we can realistically think about the top two positions.
“I’ve been really impressed with the players, their desire and the team spirit. That goes a long way.
“We need to use these months to be ready for the challenge next year, we came second last year, we wanted to be challenging for the top place but it didn’t happen.
“It’s about reorganising and just starting next season to be ready to challenge and get more points.”
(c) Sky News 2019: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer aiming higher than top four with Man Utd
