SirAlextoldmefirstteam I’dpickedatUnitedwould getjobdone.Wewon5-1 andhetexted: ‘I’vebeen outallnightcelebrating gettingmyclubback...’
BEFORE Ole there had been a manager for 26 years in Sir Alex Ferguson.
Since Sir Alex had retired there had been three managers in six years – David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho.
Ole quickly assessed the situation he had inherited.
“It’s a bit like going to Waitrose or Tesco. You spend £90 or £100. Then you get home and try to make a meal but you’ve just got a bit of everything instead of what you need to make a good meal.
“When I arrived, some of the players had been here since Sir Alex, then David had signed a few, then Van Gaal signed a few, then Mourinho signed a few and they’ve all got different styles.”
The meal Ole and Mick Phelan wanted to cook up did not have the ingredients they needed. That is not to say the ingredients or the previous chefs were at fault.
But Ole recognised that to achieve the cultural blend he desired on the pitch, he needed the right ingredients.
He revealed: “Our group had so many different strengths but not many were what we would think of as Manchester United players. “These are players who have pace, power and personality. “We’re influenced by Sir Alex and that’s what our opinion of a Manchester United player is.” Solskjaer and his backroom team would quickly set about assessing who would be part of this realignment and turnaround for short, medium and long term. After a packed first day in the
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER has revealed incredible insight into the assistance Sir Alex Ferguson gave him as Manchester United manager in new book “The First 100 Days: Lessons In Leadership From The Football Bosses”. The book – written by Dundee United gaffer Micky Mellon and school headteacher Phil Denton – is on sale tomorrow. Save 25 per cent on reachsportshop.com, order now for only £8.24 job, which culminated in Solskjaer visiting the staff Christmas party, the second day would be no less intense for one of the highest profile managerial roles in the world of football.
On December 21, 2018, United travelled to their team hotel near Cardiff in preparation for their first game under the stewardship of Solskjaer.
The first day had been a roaring success and the love for Ole around the club was tangible.
The question was, how would that translate to the players’ performance on the pitch?
“I got a text from Sir Alex who said, ‘Pick your team and sleep well.’ I sent him the players I was picking and I just got a message back, ‘That’ll do the job’.”
The very next day, it took only three minutes for a new-look United to race into a 1-0 lead.
Solskjaer recounted: “Marcus Rashford crashed that free-kick home in three minutes and the whole thing felt like it had changed. We just went 4-3-3 and told the players to be free and express themselves.”
Eventually United would run out 5-1 winners away from home.
It was a sensational start that showed a belief from the players and a joy that their new manager had a faith in them and a love for the club they could now represent as a team.
The ovation from the crowd showed that United’s huge away following emphatically approved of their new manager.
He had shown from day one he was one of them and he stood for what they believed in. Early on December 23, the day after the big win at Cardiff, Ole received the ultimate accolade via text. “I’ve been out all night celebrating getting my club back,” read the message.
The sender? Solskjaer’s mentor, father in football and United legend, Sir Alex Ferguson.