Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has assured everyone at Manchester United they will get a clean slate following his appointment as caretaker manager.
Former United striker Solskjaer was drafted in from Molde to replace Jose Mourinho, who was sacked on Tuesday after a 3-1 loss to Liverpool left the club 19 points off top spot in the Premier League. A permanent successor to Mourinho will be appointed at the end of the season.
The final months of the Portuguese’s tenure were blighted by reports of dressing-room unrest and a particularly fraught relationship with star midfielder Paul Pogba.
Solskjaer’s first match will come against his former club Cardiff City on Saturday and the interim boss made it clear everyone gets a fresh start ahead of a congested fixture list that will require widespread rotation.
‘As a manager you have to rotate so you get to see players and everyone in the squad knows they’ve got a chance, because whatever’s happened is gone and everyone starts with a clean slate,’ the Norwegian told MUTV.
‘You’ve got to start somewhere. You look at a couple performances, I’ve seen the last few games. But you look at the merits, you pick a team now and you move on. They’ll all get chances.
‘The amount of games coming up is no problem because you’ve got this amazing squad of players, they’re all quality, and they’ll all get a chance now to show they’re Manchester United players.
‘We’re in a results business and we want to win games, that’s our job. That’s mine and the staff’s job to help the players [to win]. We just want to see them play the football they can do.
United have won just two of their past eight matches in all competitions and Solskjaer, who emphasised his pleasure at being “back home”, is keen to get them enjoying their football again.
‘It’s six months and I’m going to enjoy the ride. I’m back home. It’s about seeing the players, the staff, just being myself,’ he said.
‘I know the club’s now running the process to find the next manager so I’m going to be myself in the meantime with Mick [Mike Phelan], Kieran [McKenna] and Michael [Carrick, his assistants]. We’ll get the players enjoying their football.
‘It’s great. It feels like coming home, I have to say. It’s been a few whirlwind days of course, very hectic, but great to see everyone again,’ he concluded.
