by Ian McLeish Thursday 28 March 2019 13:00 Share With twitter Share With facebook
Since returning to the club in December, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has continued to outline his approach to the game and it has proved exactly why the Norwegian and Manchester United share he same footballing DNA.
Following the news of his appointment as permanent manager on Thursday, we’ve picked out 15 key quotes from Ole which confirm he is Red to the core…
On coming back to United
“I’ve been here as a player 11 years. I’ve been here as a coach for three-and-a-half years, so it’s the best part of 15 years of my life. It feels like home. Man United fits me very well, because it’s in me. It’s in your personality, it’s ingrained in you. I understand the club.”
On his coaching philosophy
“It’s about getting every player to be their very best. It’s about getting your philosophy through and principles of how we want to play. At Man United, we play without fear, we play with courage. Go out there and express your skills. Be the kids that love to play football and go out and play in front of the best fans in the world.”
On the importance of youth to United
“As Sir Matt [Busby] once said, if they’re good enough, they’re old enough. We are built on that tradition. We need young players coming through. It’s important for the Academy and the players in the Academy to know that, yes, I am looking to progress players through.”
“It’s about getting your philosophy through and principles of how we want to play. At Man United we play without fear, we play with courage.”Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
On attacking philosophy then and now
“Pace and power, that’s what we are. When you have players like we have, with the pace – Paul [Pogba], Anthony [Martial], Alexis [Sanchez], Romelu [Lukaku], [Marcus] Rashford – that’s how we played with Andy [Cole], Yorkie [Dwight Yorke], with Giggsy [Ryan Giggs] and Becks [David Beckham] down the sides. We attack quickly when you can. Get the ball up in their half as soon as you can, as quickly as you can. If you score, fantastic, if not then you’ve got to have patient build-up play. But, attack quickly.”
On sharing his knowledge
“Whenever the training session and team sessions are done, I’ll make sure I get time to work with the boys. There is one way of getting better and that is practising – on and off the pitch. We can sit for hours and hours and hours talking about finishing practices and scoring goals because that’s always been my passion.”
On finding the right players
“It comes to playing style and how we want to look in one, two years’ time. It’s about finding players with the Man United identity and DNA.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gives a thumbs up.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says
“As a player, I gave everything I had. Now walking out, leading the team, just being part of this team, it’s very, very special.”Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
On leading the team out at Old Trafford
“As a player, I gave everything I had. Now walking out, leading the team, just being part of this team, it’s very, very special. We’re playing for the supporters, we’re playing for our pride, we’re playing for the club’s history.”
On the United attitude
“You go into every single game at Manchester United as a player or a manager, thinking you’re going to win. That’s just the nature of this club. The next one is always the important one.”
On building momentum
“The more games you win, the more confidence it breeds, the more hunger there is in the players… every single game that you win puts another layer on the way to becoming the team that we want to be.”
“Sir Matt laid the foundation. You can see the way Sir Alex rebuilt the club was on the values of Sir Matt – those beliefs and principles.”Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
On reacting to a defeat
“You don’t panic because you’ve lost a game, or change everything because it doesn’t change the mindset at all. We need to keep working on the way we want to play football. The way we approach games will always be in an attacking positive mind.”
On never giving up
“Mountains are there to be climbed. You can’t lay down and say ‘this is over’.”
On remembering Munich
“I think it’s so important because it’s such a big part of our history. That day will be in our memories and our history forever. The new supporters coming through must learn the history of it. My dad was 14 when it happened and he tells me how he got to know about it back home in Norway watching on the black-and-white TV screens. It’s a sad day in our history but it’s a day that we’ll always remember.”
On his love for the job
“I love it. I look forward to getting up in the morning to start work again. I love working with people, trying to improve people. When you’re here, you just want to go to bed at night and get up in the morning again.”
On his advice to players
“It’s up to them to use their imagination and creativity and just enjoy playing for this club because that’s the best time of your life. If you’re a regular at Man United, you should grasp the opportunity to stay here and become part of this history.”
“You go into every single game at Manchester United as a player or a manager, thinking you’re going to win.”Ole Gunnar Solskjaer