Trophy could kick off a real run of success: Ole
United boss believes lifting silverware can act as catalyst
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer believes cup glory can provide the catalyst to further success as the Manchester United manager prepares for the FA Cup quarter-final at Leicester buoyed by beating AC Milan.
Having fallen short in four semi-finals over the last 14 months, the Red Devils head to the King Power Stadium tomorrow looking to reach the final four once more fresh from an impressive Europa League last16 triumph.
Paul Pogba came off the bench and settled a 1-0 second-leg triumph at San Siro, securing a 2-1 aggregate victory against Milan and a quarter-final clash against Granada.
Solskjaer spoke ahead of the trip about his belief that cup success can sometimes paper over the cracks and be an “ego thing”, but the 1999 treble hero also knows all about the importance of silverware at United.
“I spoke about it a few days ago about trophies, sometimes it can hide the fact what you’re doing in the background,” the Norwegian said. “But I feel we are improving all the time and we’re getting closer and to win a trophy could be a boost for everyone, yes.
“We’ve had this before when we won the Carling Cup in the 2006 season with Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra, their first wins and it was the first of many.
“We feel, or we hope, a trophy can be a catalyst of more to come.”
The Red Devils have not won a trophy since the 2017 Europa League, with that competition and the FA Cup providing their own realistic avenues to silverware this term given the distance to Premier League leaders Manchester City.
But second-placed United have proven their ability to impress on the road and head to the third-placed Foxes having won their last two away match
King Power
Stadium, Sunday, 5.00pm es at the Etihad Stadium and San Siro without conceding.
“The belief and attitude is there,” Solskjaer said. “I’m really impressed by the way they recover and get ready for the next game because it is relentless.
“They are preparing to perform at the highest, highest level. It’s not like we’ve had any gimmies in the draws. Every game has been a game you really have to dig deep to win. This is another one, Leicester away.
“Of course we drew in the league against them and we know we have to defend well.
“They’ve got (Jamie) Vardy and (Kelechi) Iheanacho now with the form they’re showing, goalscoring form, and you’ve got other quality players there — the passes of (Youri) Tielemans, the runs of (Ayoze) Perez. We know we’ve got a game on our hands.”
Meanwhile, United and Arsenal are on course to meet in the Europa League final after being kept apart in the quarter and semi-final draws.
United have been drawn against Granada in the last-eight, while Arsenal will face Slavia Prague.
United’s first leg will be played away from home.
Arsenal will be at home in the first leg against Slavia, who have beaten Leicester and Rangers.