Solskjaer warns players not to be ‘conned’ by Tottenham

MANCHESTER United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has told his players to keep cool heads when they play Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow as they look to avenge a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Jose Mourinho’s side in the reverse fixture.

France international Anthony Martial was sent off in the 28th minute in the humiliating October defeat at Old Trafford after retaliating to an elbow from Erik Lamela with a push in the Argentine’s face. Solskjaer says Martial was “conned” into reacting and he does not want to see a repeat in London as they look to put their club record-equalling defeat in the Premier League era firmly behind them.

“We didn’t look anything like (them) and we got conned into a red card and that’s something we have to be aware of,” Solskjaer told a news conference.

“We can’t react, because in games, there’ll be situations you’ll be wound up, we’ve learnt from that.

“I think the players will remember that game with a lot of pain and their pride has been hurt. Pre-season was short... but we were so poor and I’m sure we’l see some players wanting to prove we’re better than that.”

United have made huge strides since the loss in October, moving up to second in the Premier League. They also have one foot in the semi-finals of the Europa League following Thursday’s 2-0 quarter-final firstleg victory at Granada.

But Solskjaer said there was plenty of room for improvement.

“We’ll never settle for second,” he said.

“We have seen the heights and we know what this club is capable of. It’s taken time for us to be in this position and, hopefully, we can be better next season because this is below our ambitions.”

Solskjaer also said forward Edinson Cavani, who arrived on a one-year deal in October, is still undecided over his Manchester United future.

“It’s not been an easy year, either for him or the rest of the world this season, so he still wants time to make his mind up,” he said.

Meanwhile, Spurs manager Jose Mourinho interrupted his own news conference to pay a glowing tribute to Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth, who died aged 99 yesterday.

Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, had been by his wife’s side throughout her 69-year reign, the longest in British history.

“I want to express my condolences to the Royal family,” Mourinho.

“To be very honest, I have a deep, deep, deep respect for the Royal family. All my condolences. It’s not just this country sharing this feeling.

“I have only positive feelings for the meaning of the family. I feel very sorry. But unfortunately is life and we have to keep going.”

Mourinho said that the 6-1 first round result should have no bearing on this weekend, with United already proving it was nothing more than a blip.

“I believe that 6-1 doesn’t reflect the reality. It can happen between two great (teams), the results they can happen in an isolated way,” Mourinho, who managed United previously, said.