Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: Manchester United the ride of my life
There’s Instagram and then there’s reality, for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
„People on social media who portray their lives as perfect – nothing’s perfect,“ he tells Sky Sports News.
The Manchester United manager has completed a year in his „dream“ job – one he admits he never expected to take – but being at the wheel has not always been an easy ride.
„It’s been a rollercoaster,“ he says. „But it’s been fantastic. It’s been a year that maybe I didn’t think was going to come but deep down in the back of my mind, I always dreamt about this job.“
He could be forgiven for thinking the only way was up after 14 wins in his first 17 matches after replacing Jose Mourinho, initially on an interim basis. „You don’t think that it’s going to stop,“ he says.
But no sooner was he given the manager’s job full-time then results took a downward turn. United eventually finished sixth, and then made their worst start to a Premier League season in 30 years.
But „life is up and down“, as Solskjaer says. After beating champions Manchester City at the Eithad, victory at Watford on Saturday would give United back-to-back away league wins for the first time since February and stretch their unbeaten run to seven matches.
„I never fly off if we’re doing well and I don’t really get too down when it’s going against us because it’s a fine line there and fine margins between success and not-so-great results in football,“ he says.
„I think that’s me as a person. It’s just looking forward to the next one and how I can make sure we do the job properly and that we’re prepared for what’s going to come.
„You’ve got to take the ups and the downs and the setbacks with the same mentality as when you’re doing well. You’re not going to see me in the dumps and you’re not going to see me in the skies.“
‘Expect more inconsistency’
Solskjaer’s demeanour may remain relatively unchanged but he insists progress is being made among his players „behind the scenes and on the pitch“.
He has always spoken highly of the Manchester United production line. He’s given 10 former academy players their debuts and they have played a huge part in the positive mood around the club right now.
Some of those players were blooded out of necessity because of the injury problems he’s had to contend with, but with the club reaching 4000 consecutive games with an academy player in the matchday squad, it looks like the future is bright with Scott McTominay, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Brandon Williams establishing themselves.
„It’ll take time as everything will do in football,“ he says. „We’re such a young team that we’re still going to see some inconsistency but you’re not going to see us surrender – you’re not going to see that.“
The club are open to signings in January but United are „not going to spend money just for the sake of spending money“, says Solskjaer. Red Bull Salzburg striker Erling Haaland is not „en route“ yet, despite reports he was spotted boarding a Norwegian Airlines flight from Stavanger to Manchester on Friday morning, but Paul Pogba will be a United player come February – „no doubt“.
Pogba is expected to return before the end of the year, having been out since September with an ankle injury, and United will need strength in depth. Their 2020 kicks off with a two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final against rivals City in January.
„We want to get back into winning ways. We want to lift trophies, “ says Solskjaer. „We’ve got two fantastic derbies coming up and some very important away games. We’ve also got the Europa League so of course, let’s see where we are in May.“
Expect a bumpy ride.
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