Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said his players “don’t have to be best friends” and is happy to see some aggression between them in training.
Per Jack Gaughan of the Daily Mail, the Norwegian wants his players to push each other and breed a winning mentality in the squad.
Solskjaer said: “I’ve already noticed that they are very well knitted together. It’s a fantastic atmosphere, which is one of the foundations for any team.
“You don’t have to be best friends. The team spirit is great. We had one or two fights [as a player], but that is just the demand, the standards that you set.
“If the session ends with a little bit of a quarrel I don’t mind because it means they are winners, they want to improve.
“If you settle for losing in training you’ll lose when a game when it really matters. There are a couple of aspects with the break: it’s the weather and the down time the boys can have together.”
The interim manager has taken the players to Dubai for a warm-weather training camp ahead of their trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
He believes the break gives his players a greater focus on training than back home, and there’s more scope to use “video analysis and to get some principles in play.”
The 45-year-old has also been drawing on his experiences as a United player when speaking to his charges.
Solskjaer has won each of his five games in charge of the Red Devils, rattling off four victories in the Premier League over the festive period before most recently beating Reading 2-0 in the FA Cup.
In the league, it’s clear he does not want his players to settle for a place in the top six.
"We're not happy talking about fifth, sixth and fourth." ❌
Solskjaer is bringing refreshing ambition back to Man United… 😍 pic.twitter.com/0mu11Uyon1
— Goal (@goal) January 6, 2019