Solskjaer’s team sheets nailed down weeks ahead
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer has already made decisions on certain team selections for United’s upcoming big games against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Liverpool.
After United travel to Fulham today, they host PSG in the Champions League round-of-16 first leg before returning to London to play Chelsea in the FA Cup fifth round at Stamford Bridge on February 18.
The Reds entertain Liverpool in the Premier League six days later on February 24, the day City and Chelsea compete in the League Cup final at Wembley.
Sir Alex Ferguson was renowned for planning team selections weeks in advance during a run-in and Solskjaer has imitated his mentor.
“I’ve always been that way,” Solskjaer said. “That I plan within a certain way. That there’s one or two changes to that team maybe, or to that team. I plan many, many weeks ahead but that is dependent on form, injuries, sickness.
“It might change if we lost that game or won that game and I might make a different decision, because you always leave it until the last day really.
“I’ve got a bit of a view on how the team will look against Chelsea, Liverpool, PSG but the closer you get to the Fulham game the more focused you are on just that one.
“After Leicester it was just Fulham, but we had to go to France to watch PSG. It’s just one of those things where us coaches and the manager have to do that.
“The players just have to focus on the next one, and Fulham, that’s the character revealer. The so-called big games, no problem, they’ll look after themselves.”
United end February with a league meeting against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on February 27.
Solskjaer was effusive about Phil Jones’ four-year contract renewal but the news prompted a backlash from some United fans.
Jones, who turns 27 this month, has been plagued by fitness issues for much of his seven-and-a-half years at United. “Phil has trained every day and that is key for him, because when he is fit and he is a good trainer. The medical staff know he can manage to be fit all the time,” said Solskjaer. OLE Gunnar Solskjaer insists United are capable of competing on all fronts next season as they strive to become champions again.
The Reds will go a sixth season without the championship this term, but are in the fifth round of the FA Cup and take on Paris SaintGermain in the Champions League round-of-16.
Should they beat Fulham at Craven Cottage today, United will rise into the Premier League top four for the first time since the season opener against Leicester on ANTONIO Valencia and Matteo Darmian have been ruled out of United’s game against Fulham.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is looking to maintain his unbeaten record as interim manager at Craven Cottage today.
Chris Smalling returns to the squad and 19-year-old Tahith Chong has been included. But it is unlikley Marcos Rojo August 10. Solskjaer stressed last month he valued trophies more than a top-four finish after Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino – Solskjaer’s main contender for the permanent United manager’s job – claimed silverware ‘only builds your ego’ and suggested ‘the most important thing is being consistently in the top four and playing in the Champions League.’
The caretaker coach spoke about his ‘vision’ for United yesterday and was asked to elaborate on what that vision specifically is.
“Challenging for every trophy there is, of course,” Solskjaer said. will be involved despite returning to training this week.
“Rojo has been training for a few days, so he’s back in training,” Solskjaer said. “But we’ve lost Antonio and Matteo through niggles for a couple of weeks.
“We’re still not bad. We’ve got 20-21 players training every day, so that’s good.”
Solskjaer was asked if Valencia, who is the current club captain, would get
“That’s what we should be about. We have to move slowly, because we are fifth at the moment, we’ve been sixth and it seemed we were never going to move away from that sixth position.
“There are six very, very good teams and all with challenge for the trophies, but we’ve got the resources and the infrastructure and the history to move towards the top and that is the only way we should think about things at Man United.
“If we don’t dream and we don’t have that vision of where we are going then we will just falter. So for us, or me, I am only used to this club challenging for trophies so that is where I see us.
“Two-year vision? Or three years, four years, five years, but it’s difficult to plan five years’ time of course. But you need to plan short-term.
“I think we’re too far behind this year [to win the league], obviously. But you’ve got to catch up the other an opportunity to play before the end of this season after the 33-year-old last week shared a message from his father encouraging him to continue to work hard to make the Ecuador squad for this summer’s Copa America.
Valencia has featured in one of Solskjaer’s 10 matchday squads and has started once in the Premier League in the last four months, amid injury issues and a lack of form.
But the Reds boss indicated Valencia teams ahead of us, especially City, Liverpool but now Tottenham, they’re really in the running as well. “So obviously it’s three teams who have been far ahead but we’ve beaten Tottenham, so we know that we’re capable of that, but we need the consistency. “But two years’ time is long enough, but also short enough, to say that we’ve got the possibility to make a big difference in our preparation, in everything. “Next year, you always hope, of course. I came in from Molde, they were 10th in 2010, and in 2011 we won the league, so you can never say never.” United are expected to confirm Ashley Young’s one-year contract extension next week and, although Solskjaer stressed the importance of retaining older players, he also challenged Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard to develop as leaders at United. “The club and the team can [win Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have travelled to Fulham had he been fit
“Well, hopefully he’ll recover,” Solskjaer said of Valencia.
“Because he’s been training hard, really hard. Then he got a setback, so hopefully in a couple of weeks he’ll be back with us, he’s been a fantastic servant for the club, he’s captain for a reason. But it was hard when he broke down, he would’ve travelled this weekend.”