Is Solskjaer really the man to make United great again?
A year after his appointment, manager insists he has changed the culture and now the club doesn’t need ‘major surgery’
EVERTON are fitting opponents for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s final Premier League game before he celebrates his first anniversary as manager at Old Trafford. Back in April, it was a humiliating 4-0 defeat at Goodison Park that provided definitive evidence that United needed a radical overhaul in attitude and personnel. From that squad, Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez and Chris Smalling have gone. Phil Jones, Diogo Dalot and Nemanja Matic have been largely sidelined. Hungry new signings Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire and Daniel James have brought energy to a club that had staggered for six years post-Sir Alex Ferguson. Most importantly of all, Solskjaer believes he and assistants Mike Phelan, Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna have overseen a change in culture which will eventually see them challenge for major trophies again. ‘That game at Everton was the biggest eye- opener,’ says t he Norwegian, whose authority has been enhanced by victories over Tottenham and bitter rivals Manchester City in the past 10 days. ‘If you lose 2-1 or 3-2, a close game, you can see something. But when it’s 4-0 and a capitulation? That was my lowest moment, definitely. You could see that from the press conference because I didn’t know what to say.
‘It’s different now. We are on the right track.
‘If you don’t pull your weight in training or put in a shift, you are the odd man out. It didn’t always use to be like that, I have to say. We still give the players some “medicine” but we don’t need a major operation.’
Solskjaer, 46, is too polite to mention his predecessor Jose Mourinho. But it is clear he was shocked by the desperately low morale in the camp when he arrived last December.
An early flurry of wins, including one at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16 last March, provided a short-term fix before reality kicked in with six defeats in eight matches.
Staff complained that Mourinho never spoke to them. Solskjaer has made it a priority in his first year to make the workplace at Carrington a fun place to be again.
‘The biggest change has been the mood,’ says Solskjaer. ‘Working for Manchester United is like being part of the family.
‘It doesn’t matter if you’re Kath on reception, Mike behind the cooking plates, Alec doing the kit, or Ian, or us as coaches or the players.
‘The feedback I get from visitors has been positive, that we’re a club with great people.
‘I’d only been back once since I left and I didn’t feel I could. Last week we had Patrice Evra, Ando [Anderson]. Berba [Dimitar Berbatov] has been in. Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Roy Keane.’
Of course, any lasting feelgood factor requires results. Solskjaer’s United have had good and bad streaks. This season, they have achieved results against Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City, but lost to Bournemouth, West Ham and Newcastle.
Solskjaer wants consistency as the next step.
‘Not many of the boys had experienced the euphoria of winning at PSG. But I know it’s a case of, “Move on, next one”. You cannot dwell on winning any game.
‘If you beat Man City, like we did, Alkmaar. After t hat, Everton. Under Sir Alex, we had to earn the right to win every game and had the feeling we would. That is how it is supposed to be at Man United.
‘We need to keep our identity — intensity, aggression, urgency and
The biggest change has been the mood. Working for United is like being part of a family. I’d only been back once since I left and I didn’t feel I could
quality — against every team. We haven’t done that in games we are expected to win.’
Considering his only previous managerial experience came at Cardiff City and Molde, even Solskjaer’s fiercest critic would accept he has handled the pressure well.
For his part, he never doubted his credentials from the moment he stepped in as interim boss.
‘I wouldn’t have taken the job if I didn’t believe I could do it,’ he says. ‘I owed Man United honesty. Football-wise, I can hold my own when it comes to tactics.
‘Managing the club as a whole i s about t reating people t he right way. I was never afraid of handling it. Within a couple of weeks, I put a plan to [executive vice-chairman] Ed Woodward of how I wanted the team to look.
‘ I’m old school, so it was flip chart, eye to eye and passion, not a powerpoint presentation. I wrote names down — yep, yep, no, no, yes — showing the gaps that needed filling.
‘We wanted to go back to our traditions of quick, attacking football with pace, power and personality. And that is what we are doing.’
The investment in three young British players has been a success. All are regular starters, including James, a £ 15million bargain buy from Swansea.
A dozen players have made their debuts under Solskjaer, including striker Mason Greenwood, tipped as the next big thing.
The manager accepts more must follow if United are to jump from top-four challengers to serious rivals to Liverpool.
Exciting prospects such as England winger Jadon Sancho and Salzburg hot-shot Erling Braut
Haaland have been mentioned. ‘ I have a vi s i on of where I want the team to be in 18 months. Obviously we are one or two players down in numbers but it doesn’t have to be the January window [to buy], it might be the summer,’ says the manager.
‘But we are going to strengthen. We are going to get starters into this team. We need to.’
This afternoon’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford marks the 4,000th consecutive match in which United have named at least one academy player in their squad, a legacy of Sir Matt Busby and his famous Babes.
One of those involved today, Andreas Pereira, is an example of a player sent on loan by previous managers but given his chance by Solskjaer.
‘He has been massive for me,’ says the Belgian-born Brazilian who arrived at United aged 16. ‘Perhaps if he’d not been at the club, I might not be here now.
‘He spoke to me and said I would get more opportunities. If I improved, I would play more, and that is what has happened.
‘ He has given me belief. He believes in my potential and knows there is more to come.
‘In the summer, I was thinking about my options. But Manchester is my home and I always wanted to stay here, so I am very happy this manager is here.’