Rashford says Ole’s the man for Reds hotseat
Fewer distractions the better says Reds boss as focus turns to mouth-watering showdown with Liverpool
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer has welcomed Paul Pogba’s reduced social media presence in recent weeks, but has defended the midfielder’s extrovert nature and has encouraged him to continue being true to himself.
With just 60 tweets on his account in over four years, Solskjaer admits he’s no social media guru, but believes sites such as Twitter and Instagram can give your critics ammunition, especially when results aren’t going your way.
The launch of Jesse Lingard’s own clothing range, attended by many of his team-mates, in the week before the Anfield fixture with Liverpool in December was criticised by former United players Gary Neville and Roy Keane on the back of the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool.
But United are unbeaten in the league since then, with Solskjaer taking over in the week after the Merseyside humbling and the Norwegian wants his players to continue being responsible on social media.
“Paul has always been a largerthan-life character. He has a fantastic family but you don’t do yourself any favours,” Solskjaer said of the social media spotlight.
“You don’t want to give anyone an excuse really so, of course, you don’t go to the Brit Awards this week.
“We know leading up to the other game against Liverpool there were stories about players not being focused.
“It is not about that. We know they are focused, we know they are doing their best, but he does help himself by toning it down a bit and that is just Paul being Paul.
“Knowing him he wants to win, he wants to be the best.
“You would be surprised by the number of minutes he’s played.
“Apart from David (de Gea) and maybe Nemanja (Matic) he has played the most minutes for us in the league.
“There was a perception that Jose left him out all the time. Maybe he does not have the energy to do it. Who knows?”
Pogba captained United on occasions earlier in the season but was told by Jose Mourinho he wouldn’t have a role as ‘second captain’ after a disagreement between the pair.
But Solskjaer has backed the World Cup winner as a leader and while Pogba has previously been criticised for flamboyant haircuts and his extrovert nature, United’s caretaker boss has no issues with that side of his personality.
“He is a leader in training, he is a leader in the dressing room,” Solskjaer said ahead of today’s clash with Liverpool at Old Trafford. “Players are allowed to be themselves. He spends a lot of energy being a leader on and off the pitch. “If you want the nice car, different haircut. I can’t do anything about my grey hair, but it is not a problem that you have whatever haircut you want. It has never been a problem with Paul. “I remember when he was 16 he wanted to feel good. If you feel good you will play well.” One of Solskjaer’s most recent tweets was a picture of Marcus Rashford’s shirt over his TV in Norway as the striker celebrated scoring against Liverpool at Old Trafford last season. He referenced that on Friday when explaining he had spoken to the whole squad about the standards he expects from Manchester United players. “I have talked to the whole team about expectations and standards and what I expect from them,” he said. “I am a bit older than them and don’t understand all this social media, even though I posted a picture of Rashy’s shirt over my television when he scored against Liverpool last time at Old Trafford. That maybe was one of my five or six tweets ever.”