Chong proud after making United bow in cup clash
TAHITH Chong has spoken of his immense pride after making his United debut against Reading.
The 19-year-old came on as a second-half substitute for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side as they booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 victory on Saturday afternoon.
Chong made an immediate impression during the game at Old Trafford as the United faithful broke out in a rendition of ‘we only have one Chong’ as he made his way onto the pitch.
Speaking after the match Chong, pictured, told of his pride and revealed how the moment was made extra special by his parents being in attendance.
“Obviously it was a special moment,” Chong told MUTV. “I couldn’t enjoy it more than I did.
“He (Solskjaer) just said enjoy it, get on the ball, try and get a few touches and just enjoy the game. Obviously I just tried to get into the game, get into the tempo.
“I think it is a proud moment, I just felt proud. You work hard to get there, my family helped me so it was a proud moment just standing there. My parents came, so my mum and dad, so I am happy they could see it as well.”
Chong joins Angel Gomes as the only other academy star to have played in the first-team under Solskjaer this season, and the Dutch youngster admits he is encouraged by the youth philosophy being deployed by the Norwegian coach.
He said: “I have got to keep my feet on the ground and keep working hard, if my chances come I have just got to take them. I think the manager has done a brilliant job. I am not the first one, Angel has had a chance too. For the young boys coming through it is good to see. I think everyone at the youth level now can see those opportunities, everyone is working even harder now.” IF Marcus Rashford’s form under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has not been impressive enough, his social media game has hit new levels since the Norwegian took charge.
Indeed, on Monday, Rashford’s latest post went viral when he tweeted a photo of Solskjaer holding court at United’s warm weather training camp in Dubai as the GARY Neville says he is excited to watch United again in light of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s influence at the club.
The Reds have all of their five games under the Norwegian, scoring 16 goals in the process.
Jose Mourinho’s tenure ended at Old Trafford after the Reds fell to a hapless 3-1 defeat against Liverpool 21-year-old, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard listened intently.
The caption? ‘Seconds left... Becks whipped in a perfect corner. Teddy flicked it on. The rest is history.’ The post has been re-tweeted 32,000 times and has 122,000 likes. And counting.
Those are the kind of numbers that would make Richard Arnold, United’s managing director, sit up but the photo gives you an insight at Anfield, and Neville commended his former team-mate for navigating the club out of a ‘desperate’ situation.
“I am [excited to watch United again],” he told Sky Sports.
“The Liverpool game was desperate. The club was just in bits, crawling on its hands and knees at the time.
“What [Ole Gunnar] Solskjaer has done is get everyone happy; the into Solskjaer’s man management style – and why he has been such a hit with the players.
The 45-year-old has never been afraid to use his own experiences as a player to help guide his squad. If a forward’s nose has been put out of joint after being benched, Solskjaer can point to how many games he changed as a substitute.
If a player is struggling to get his head around a certain drill or team move, Solskjaer can fall back on how he navigated a particular ingame scenario to help them along.
Those experiences helped set the Norwegian apart in his first days as reserve team coach at Carrington alongside Warren Joyce as Mick Clegg, United’s former power and development coach, recalls.
“Warren had the cones all laid out and said, ‘Look, this is the way I want us to play,’” he previously told M.E.N. Sport.
“Ole was listening and listening and said, ‘Stop, let me take over for a second. When I was with Eric Cantona in this particular game connection with the fans is obvious.
“He’s obviously connected with the players. In the first few weeks the performance levels have been a lot higher. The happiness is a lot higher and I think it was needed all around.
“I think from the start of the season it was desperate at the club in the sense that Jose [Mourinho] looked unhappy. He had been this is what I did and then this is what happened.’ It was incredible. He was using performance props. It was like something you saw in a film, like the Karate Kid.” Those same methods are having the desired effect all these years later – United have won their first five games under Solskjaer, scoring 16 goals and keeping back-to-back clean sheets against Newcastle and Reading. There have been plenty of smiles, but Solskjaer has encountered different tests along the way. At St James’ Park, for example, United had not scored when they went into half-time level for the first time under their interim manager. There was no panic though – no radical change of game plan – and Solskjaer made a double substitution that changed the game after the hour mark when he threw on Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez. Of course, the real test is to come against Spurs at Wembley on Sunday. A game Mike Phelan believes will be a ‘great foot- Ciaran Kelly undermined in the summer and inevitably when that happens, the manager ends up losing his job.”
Neville says Solskjaer’s deployment of Marcus Rashford as a centre-forward has been a breath of fresh air.
“They needed more energy up front,” he explained. “Lukaku hasn’t been at his best this season. He had a big World Cup and sometimes that happens post-World Cup.”