Ole in pole position after reuniting club
Mitrovic’s fighting qualities
GARY LINEKER claims Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is giving the “best possible audition” to get the Manchester United job.
And the former England striker believes Solskjaer will take a huge step towards becoming king of Old Trafford if he can see off Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Solskjaer has overseen a remarkable run since becoming caretaker boss in December, guiding United to nine wins and a draw from his 10 games in charge.
The United hero has put himself firmly in the frame after transforming the mood following Jose Mourinho’s exit.
BT Sport presenter Lineker said: “He’s probably favourite at the moment. If he can get through this round against PSG then the odds will decrease for sure.
“He was going to be one of a handful who would be considered but he’s in the driving seat and he’s in the best place to give the best possible audition.
“His audition at the moment is as good as you could possibly give. But at the same time, there’s still three months of the season left. In football things change in three days, let alone three months.
“He seems to be getting the best out of the players and they seem to like him. His managerial career has not been incredible so far but sometimes a manager needs an opportunity at a place where he’s got a real chance and he’s certainly got that.
“I would say he’s probably favourite. It depends who else would be on that list for Manchester United.
“Obviously [Mauricio] Pochettino is the one everyone talks about and he would be the perfect fit because he loves young players, he plays lovely football and is a decent human being.
“He’d be up there but he’s Tottenham manager and who knows what’s going to happen there.”
Lineker believes one of Solskjaer’s biggest achievements is to rebuild the spirit of the United dressing room after revealing his “pet hate” about Mourinho.
The Portuguese fell out with the players and his constant public barbs were a feature of their desperate slump in results which led to him being sacked.
Lineker said: “You look at the whole side and the world has left their shoulders. It was like carrying a weight and it was dragging everyone down. The manager was being a bit negative towards them in the press. That’s one of my pet hates. A manager is there to protect his players, support his players publicly. Say what you like in dressing rooms and privately but that’s a different thing to doing it publicly.
“I don’t think there’s that many who do it. Not like he was doing it at United. He just didn’t seem like the right fit and then was kind of blaming the world.
“You will never get players to perform for you for when that happens. You could see that old ‘lost dressing room’ thing.
“If there’s a little belief, if you’ve been dragged down, if you’ve lost a little bit of confidence, if that becomes a lot of players and not just one or two, then that becomes what they mean by losing the dressing room.”
And Lineker feels if there is one big player who has benefited most from Solskjaer’s arrival, it is Marcus Rashford. “He’s one of a lot of young, exceptional English players coming through and it’s great,” said Lineker.
“He’s learning quickly as well. There’s always this thing about people saying he wasn’t calm in front of goal. I never really saw that. I saw him miss chances, but I never saw him as a panicky finisher.
“I’ve always thought he was quite a cute finisher, but just needed to play. His movement is good, got great energy, wonderful touch, can beat players and score goals. It seems like he’s got a really good head on his shoulders as well.”
❑ BT Sport brings you the moments that matter this season, with exclusively live coverage of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. Watch live on TV and via the awardwinning BT Sport App. For more info visit bt.com/sport. ALEKSANDAR MITROVIC is setting the tone for Fulham’s survival fight
– and his team-mates are following him.
That is the view of manager Claudio Ranieri, whose side play host to Manchester United today.
Ranieri says Fulham need “soldiers” and that there is no bigger fighter than his 16-goal Serbian striker.
Mitrovic even ended up in a scrap with team-mate Aboubakar Kamara during a yoga session, before the Frenchman was shipped out on loan.
“We are fighting, but we lose some matches. Not because we don’t fight but because the little details are against us,” said Ranieri.
“When I look at a training session, they give everything that I ask. When I watch the match, I see them fight.
“After, if the others score goals and we don’t, can I say, ‘You were worse than the other team?’ No.
“In the Premier League you need fighters and quality. You look at United when they lose the ball. You look at City when they lose the ball, Liverpool.
“They arrive together, to press, for 90 minutes. They have quality but they also have strength, resistance. It’s contagious.
“And if there’s a good result against Manchester United, the mood could be changed.”