‘GIVE BRUNO A HELPING HAND’

Manchester City are powering towards a third title in four years after displacing their Old Trafford rivals at the top of the Premier League thanks to a 15-game winning run.

But despite seeing City sweep opponents aside, Solskjaer has backed his own philosophy at United, built on the traditions of predecessors Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson.

And he is confident it will eventually lead to trophies.

He takes his misfiring stars to The Etihad today aiming to close a 14-point gap between the rivals and slow down Guardiola’s runaway leaders.

The United boss said: “Every manager builds a team around a club’s culture. We have a culture at Man United that we want to

MANCHESTER UNITED boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has urged his players to take some of the derby strain off talisman Bruno Fernandes.

The Portuguese midfielder tops the Old Trafford scoring charts with 22 goals this season.

But he has failed to find the target in his last three games – and the Red Devils have been goalless each time.

Fernandes, 26, has looked jaded as United have fallen 14 points behind leaders City in the title race – and Solskjaer feels he needs some help.

“I think taking responsibility is important for everyone when they play football,” said the manager.

“We expect everyone to be a leader, everyone to take that responsibility.

“Of course it might be Bruno. But I know that teams are trying to man-mark him at times because sometimes in football they try to stop your best player.

“That’s when someone else will have to step forward.”

Fernandes arrived from Sporting Lisbon last January in a deal which cost United £47million plus another £25m in potential add-ons.

His form has put him in the frame for the Footballer of the Year award – but Solskjaer believes he has the potential to be even better.

“He has only been here for 13 months, so the more time we get, the better we will become,” he added.”