THE KISS Ole aims to for a derby
MANCHESTER UNITED boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is desperate to end a decade of derby misery at Old Trafford today.
It has been 10 years since Manchester United last did a Premier League double over rivals City – and Solskjaer reckons that’s way too long. Michael Owen and Paul Scholes were the goal heroes in 2009-10, scoring winners at Old Trafford and The Etihad in the days when United had the edge over the emerging ‘noisy neighbours’ in the last seasons of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign.
Since then Pep Guardiola’s City have dominated the Manchester landscape in terms of trophies. But Solskjaer believes a win for United could be the start of closing the class gap that has become a chasm since that last league ‘double.’ “That stat is not nice to hear and for us, it’s one of our challenges to close this gap,” said the United boss.
“Of course, every game against City is massive but I think we’ve shown we can compete with them on any given day.
“And what we are doing to the squad, building the squad, I think we will get that consistency and that will help us challenge for trophies as well as closing the gap in the league table as well.”
United’s improved form has set them on a nine-game all-competition run without defeat since losing at home to Burnley in January. And that has encouraged Solskjaer that the progress he sees at the training ground every day is beginning to transfer to matches. “We are nine games unbeaten, so it is easier for me to stand here and say that but I see improvement all the time,” he said.
“But now with the signings we’ve made as well it is starting to give us that little edge. We know at times we let ourselves down early in the season.
“We are getting better but we’re not going to get carried away about being fifth.
“We’re not getting carried away being unbeaten in nine either because that used to be the norm at this club and should be the norm, that you go through these long patches without defeat.”
The arrival of Bruno Fernandes for an initial
£47million from Sporting Lisbon has been the spark United needed.
And Solskjaer is confident United won’t suffer the same dramatic collapse as in the Carabao Cup semi-final at Old Trafford in early January when they slumped 3-0 down before half-time.
Fernandes was still in Portugal when Guardiola devised that tactical master-class, with Solskjaer admitting for 15 minutes that night his players’ “heads had gone”.
But with Fernandes on the pitch, the Norwegian is certain that will not happen to his players again.
“Those 15 minutes that City outplayed us, our heads had gone,” he said.
“We didn’t control our emotions and when it got to half-time we sorted that out.
“From then on we won 2-0 against them in the next three
45 minutes we played against them, but that first half cost us, being in the Carabao final.
“But in Bruno we have a leader and I would expect my more experienced players to grab hold of the game if it pans out that way again.
“We have learned from that. You see things and then work on things. And you hope there and then the players grasp it straight away.”