VICTORY ALL THANKS TO ROO
GRINNING Ole Gunnar Solskjaer celebrated the perfect start to his Manchester United reign – and tipped his hat to Wayne Rooney for some inspirational advice.
After his Red Devils thrashed Cardiff 5-1 in Wales, new Old Trafford boss Solskjaer admitted he had tapped up Roo via text ahead of the trip.
And he paid a glowing tribute to the club’s all-time record scorer for his vital input in United’s most free-flowing, free-scoring display since the glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ecstatic Solsjkaer, who replaced sacked Jose Mourinho last week, said: “I arrived on Wednesday night and only had Thursday and Friday with the players. “Wayne Rooney texted me and gave me some advice – it must be down to him! He told me to make them play football, enjoy themselves and be Manchester United.”
With recalled French World Cup winner Paul Pogba at his majestic best, the visitors certainly did that in the Welsh capital. Marcus Rashford started the rout with an opener after three minutes. Thereafter, it was one-way traffic as United tore Neil Warnock’s men to shreds.
Solskjaer, loaned to United by his Norwegian club Molde, went on: “When you get that first goal so soon, you think, ‘Wow, now we can settle down.’
“I explain the change today by the fact they are very good players. We told them a Man Utd team should never be outworked – and then you can let your superior skills win the game
“All the boys were brilliant with their attitude and approach. It was exhilarating to watch. As long as they keep up those standards, it’ll be fine. “It’s been a difficult week for everyone – to get such such focus from the players all week was impressive.
“They made me comfortable. The boys got me settled in quickly.”
As for getting back into the race for the top four, Solskjaer is optimistic. He said: “The gap is eight points. We’ll take it game by game. But this club are stronger in the second half of the season.”