Solskjaer: his Man Utd ambitions, transfer plans and top-four hopes

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been appointed the caretaker manager of Manchester United

(Image credit: Svein Ove Ekornesvaag/AFP/Getty Images)

published 21 December 2018

New Manchester United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has today held his first press conference and spelt out his plans for the Old Trafford club.

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“I didn’t think twice when the club called me to sign me as a player and obviously this is more of an honour and privilege to help the club for a few months. It’s five to six months to help out, while the club do the process to get the next manager from the summer onwards. They [the players] are happy, there has been a good mood, every time I meet new people I am excited. It is the first time I have seen a few of them, I know a few of them from before, I had a few in the reserves and I have seen them as kids growing up when I was a player.”

“He’s influenced me with everything, to be fair. The way he’s dealt with people, the way he was manager of the club. How he kept 25 international players happy and hungry, wanting to improve, but also the staff in and around the place. He’s been my mentor but I didn’t understand early on that he’d be my mentor. Towards the last... ever since my injury in 2003 at least, I was making all the notes about what he did at different, certain situations, and of course I have already been in touch with him because there’s no one to get better advice from.”

“My job is to help the players and make them grasp the opportunity - they all want to be part of Man Utd. It’s down to man-management. I have had the best man-manager [Alex Ferguson]. I learned how he dealt with people. It’s about communication. Of course I will sit down and speak to the ones who are not playing. When you are at Man Utd there is set of demands and standards we set and one of those is to be a team player. I don’t think anyone has been on the bench more than me! That’s always my comeback to players - you never know, you might come on and make an impact and grab the opportunity when you get it.”