Warnock says new boss just can’t lose

OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER may have been a flop on his first venture into Premier League management but Neil Warnock believes “he cannot lose” in his new role at Manchester United.

Warnock will pit his 1,500-plus matches as manager against United’s relative novice at Cardiff City Stadium today in a game that takes the Norwegian back to the ground where he first cut his teeth in the Premier League.

While Cardiff proved an awful fit for Solskjaer four years ago – he took them from 17th in the Premier League to 17th in the Championship before getting the sack – his new interim role at United should suit both him and the club according to Warnock.

“It’s the best job he will have in his life because you can’t lose,” said Warnock. “He won’t have believed the phone call he got originally and he’ll still be on cloud nine. It’s a tremendous feeling managing a club you love.

“He knows the fans and he was amazing as a player for them, so he’s going to get a starter. I can’t see how he loses and they should win the next four games.

“I wasn’t surprised at his appointment. It needed somebody who has been there before and he’s a legend.”

Today will be the third time this season Warnock’s men have faced a club who have just experienced misfortune or a manager change.

Cardiff were the first side to meet Leicester after the tragic death of their chairman, and they played Southampton in the Saints’ first game after Ralph Hasenhuttl replaced Mark Hughes.

Now Cardiff play a United team who saw Jose Mourinho ousted after last Sunday’s 3-1 defeat by Liverpool. There are 10 places between the teams in the table but only three wins in difference.

Cardiff have won four of their last five home games and Warnock is hoping for an early Christmas present similar to the pre-birthday gift his players delivered with a win over Wolves.

“It’s our home form that’s crucial. Anything is possible at home, even though games like Manchester United and Spurs aren’t the ones you really look at,” said Warnock.

“If you believe this is a good time to be playing Manchester United then you’re telling porkies. It’s the worst time.”

Yet if there was one thing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer attempted to stress yesterday as he made his beaming debut in the United hotseat, it was not to be fooled by the baby face and the smile.

Solskjaer has breezed into Old Trafford in cheery style and insisted in his first answer yesterday he was here for “five or six months to just help out”, almost as if he had popped over to lend a hand with washing the kit or mowing the grass.

But rather than merely chipping in, Solskjaer has been charged with helping United back on track, getting the team to play with no fear and putting smiles back on players’ and fans’ faces.

One of the first things the Norwegian said he would do at a club who had perhaps lost their joy was to see former boss Sir

Alex Ferguson and discuss a few ideas.

Solskjaer said: “He signed me 22 years ago, so he has been a big part of things for me. I don’t know what input he had in me getting the job but, when I got the call, of course I texted the boss.”

The caretaker manager is also determined to bring back the United style of old. “It’s about getting every player to do their best, speaking to them about the philosophy, principles, how we want to play,” he said. “You want to play with courage and express their skills. Sir Alex said, ‘Go out and express yourselves and take risks’.

“The last game he had as a manager, 5-5 [at West Brom], that was almost the perfect end for him as a manager, and I want the players to be similar, to be the kids who love to play football.”

Solskjaer and Ferguson will have much to discuss, namely how to deal with a culture of player power and how to get United attacking with courage once more. The new man produced a lovely phrase to describe what that meant to him, suggesting the philosophy of the club was “in the walls”.

He said: “I’m not sure about saying the power has gone to the dressing room. Football has evolved, of course, and the gaffer was in charge of more or less the whole club. Football is developing. The structure

@gideonbrooks