Mason Greenwood does not need many tips when it comes to finding the back of the net – that hat-trick in United’s dramatic Youth Cup win against Chelsea tells you that – but you can bet he will relish a spell under the guidance of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Indeed, the Norwegian’s first post-playing role with United was as a strikers’ coach, helping players he used to compete with for a starting berth, and finishing training will be a big part of his enjoyable sessions at Carrington.
Solskjaer will command respect in that dressing room – one of only two players to score winning goals in European Cup finals for United – and will also maintain that required distance between players that Ryan Giggs struggled with in 2014.
When Giggs made the step up as interim manager, following David Moyes’ departure, the players teased him about whether he would now park in the manager’s spot at Carrington.
Solskjaer will not encounter such problems and he will have learnt a lot from his last spell in the Premier League with Cardiff – which came at the wrong time for him.
So what can we expect? Solskjaer previously vowed to build the team around Paul Pogba if he was United manager and expect him to prove a man of his word.
The 45-year-old was back at Old Trafford in October to watch United’s defeat to Juventus so will already be well-aware of the tweaks required and how he needs to quickly make his mark in that dressing room.
If Solskjaer had his way, United players would not have arranged back to back nights out the week before a huge game against Liverpool. Something former team-mate Roy Keane believes would not be tolerated ‘if that was a good, strong dressing room’.
Solskjaer *gets* those timeless standards required at United that have been lacking for too long. Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure, Mike Phelan, Rene Meulensteen, Eric Steele, Tony Strudwick, Rob Swire, Warren Joyce, Brian McClair, Paul McGuinness and Derek Langley have all departed.
When you then factor in the on the field departures in that time – from Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand to Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick – you start to see how the dressing room has changed in the last five years.