When you have a coach like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, it would be difficult not to learn something from him
In his 11 years as a forward for Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, Solskjaer was a part of some of the best teams – and greatest successes – in the club’s history.
He came into a Man United set up which was at perhaps its lowest ebb since the great Scot left the club in 2013, replacing Jose Mourinho with the club sitting on its lowest points total ever after 17 league matches.
As such, part of Solkjaer’s remit was to not only turn around results, but also reinvigorate a squad which had clearly lost belief in itself under the volatile Portuguese coach.
He has done what has been needed on the pitch – securing five wins in his first five games as interim coach – and a recent tweet by forward Marcus Rashford suggests that he is massively improving the atmosphere among the squad too.
The tweet, sent on Monday evening, shows Solskjaer talking while Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard look at him, hanging on his every word.
The caption attached by Rashford goes some way to showing just how much respect Manchester United’s players have for their new manager.
“Seconds left.. Becks whipped in a perfect corner. Teddy flicked it on. The rest is history,” wrote Rashford, referring to Solskjaer’s winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final, which sealed the treble for Alex Ferguson’s side and was arguably the greatest achievement in the club’s history.
"Seconds left.. Becks whipped in a perfect corner. Teddy flicked it on. The rest is history" 🗣 @ManUtd pic.twitter.com/JFGqwUHZLP
— Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) January 7, 2019
That sort of history with Man United, combined with his positive and infectious attitude, has clearly rubbed off a lot on the team’s players who appear to be enjoying their football for the first time in a long time.
It’s not just the players who enjoying themselves out in Dubai though, as illustrated by a tweet from a very relaxed looking Mike Phelan, who returned to the club as one of Solskjaer’s assistants after the departure of Mourinho.
“Well it’s a little warmer out here, The boys are working hard everyone’s smiling and the shorts are back,” said Phelan in a tweet which seems to quite aptly sum up how the fun factor has returned to Old Trafford.
https://twitter.com/mike_phelan_1/status/1082283795754205184?s=12
Solskjaer will get his first real test as United manager when his team face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 13 January and by the looks of these images, the team will be in good spirits for it.
