Anthony Martial admits it is easier to play for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer than it was under Jose Mourinho. Martial fell foul of former United boss Mourinho, who was willing to offload the France forward last summer after losing faith in him. Martial, Pogba and Marcus Rashford are three players who have been transformed by caretaker boss Solskjaer’s arrival, with the squad keen for the former United striker to get the job full-time at the end of the season.
Since Mourinho’s sacking in December , Martial has flourished under Solskjaer, whose attacking approach, compared to the pragmatic style of his predecessor, has brought out the best in United’s attackers. Solskajer has challenged Martial to become a 20-goal-a-season striker and the 23-year-old is confident he can get to that figure this term, and vindicate his manager’s belief in him. Martial said things are working out well for the other attackers and he hopes they can continue to be as effective. He added that when Solskjaer came in, he had a lot of confidence, a lot of determination and that was really helpful.
“We’ve got a coach who has different intentions and we’re trying to do what he asks,” said Martial. “Perhaps it’s easier to play this style of football and not the style of football he [Mourinho] asked. The manager is asking me to attack more. That’s my job, after all. To make the difference and to be more decisive.” he added. “We’re trying to pay him back and things are working out well at the moment. We hope they will against PSG as well.”
Martial showed just how much he is relishing playing under Solskjaer with a superb display in United’s 3-0 win at Fulham last Saturday, which included a sublime solo goal and an assist for team-mate Paul Pogba to plunder the opener. “Obviously things are going really well, we’re really happy to have him here and we hope we can continue,” said Martial. “But the final decision isn’t with us.” he added. Martial has 11 goals this season, six shy of his best haul for United, scored in his debut season in 2015-16 under Louis van Gaal.