Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is aiming to follow in the footsteps of Real Madrid tactician Solari in fighting for permanent Manchester United job. The 45yr old made the disclosure in his first press conference after taking over from Jose Mourinho from interim basis earlier in the week.
Solskjaer, on loan from Norway’s Molde, conceded that he has not looked beyond the end of the current campaign with the club where he spent nearly 15 years as a player and coach, but has hinted at trying to secure the job on permanent basis if the chance comes.
“When you get a job like this and they ask you to sign for six months, you say ‘yeah’,” he said.
“I’m happy to help out and my job now for the next six months is to do as well as I can and move the club forward as well as I can.
“I understand there are so many managers who would love to be manager of Manchester United and I am one of them. But it is not something we’ve talked about, they’ll do a process now for the next six months.”
The Norwegian who is renowned at Old Trafford for his winning goal against Bayern Munich in the 1999 UEFA Champions League final, faces difficult task at the Manchester club.
“My job is to help the players, make them grasp the opportunity now because they all want to be part of Man United,” said Solskjaer.
“I’m going to be here to help them, help the team, that is down to man management. I had the best manager as a player and coach to learn how he dealt with players and it’s about communication. I’ll sit down and speak to the ones not playing, tell them what I expect of them.
“When you’re at Man United there are a set of demands and one is to be a team player and I don’t think anyone has been on the bench more than me. That’s always my comeback to players, you might come on and make an impact.”
Solskjaer also paid respects to Manchester United’s legendary tactician Sir Alex Fergusen for assembling a team that dominated the football screens during his time. The Interim boss went on to talk about bringing the players back to their shape ahead of a visit to Cardiff city.
“It’s about getting every player to the best, speaking to them, the training ground, the philosophy, principles, how we want to play,” said Solskjaer, who coached Pogba in the reserves at Old Trafford.
“It doesn’t matter what team you’re coaching, they all want to have a picture of how you want to play, the qualities.
“They are quality players so it will be easier to get the players expressing themselves. You play with courage, go out there and express your skills.”