Courageous, energetic and fearless...united’s kids? No, these are all Ole’s qualities

the job now. Second is the courage Solskjaer has shown in embracing the challenge of not only giving back to the players some joy and hope with the style of football he’s largely adopted, but also in placing an emphasis on youth.

I know people will say he’s had it forced on him with so many injuries – but actually, that’s only to an extent.

He wasn’t forced to turn away from Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku when he first came into the role, for instance – choosing instead to go with the pace and verve of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.

I don’t like criticising Mourinho, but he’s always been a manager who has wanted the tried and tested.

Solskjaer, on the other hand, really wants the energy and fearlessness younger players bring, and that togetherness and lack of cynicism they embody too. You could see that in Paris. Two kids on at the end – Mason Greenwood and Tahith Chong – where other managers would never trust them in that situation. And with the celebrations, you could see how the younger element feel an almost innocent joy when they win. They don’t really feel the pressure of the older players, and that has been key. Play garbage in the first game against Paris Saint-germain? No matter, they don’t know what it’s like to feel you have no chance. You can feel a new sense of morale and togetherness at United… and for that reason alone it would be a travesty if he doesn’t get the job now. He will, though. Everything about the club has changed. Yes, you need technical knowledge as a manager, but most of all you need your people skills, in building all the unquantifiable factors which make a winning team. That’s why I can see them continuing their run at Arsenal on Sunday, despite the injuries they have, and the fatigue from that epic effort in Paris. Arsenal have done fairly well of late themselves – bar a horrible result in Rennes – but they are a funny, inconsistent team. That tells me that they are still very much in transition, even if there’s been some promise under Unai Emery. Both teams will feel they can now catch Spurs in third, which, when you think about it, is crazy, especially from the position United were in a couple of months ago. Some people said they had more chance of hitting the bottom three, not top three! That’s why Ole is behind the wheel... and will stay there for some time.