Manchester United: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer makes bold claim about title hopes
Solskjaer feels United squad is starting to envisage his vision and ideas.
Contending for FA Cup and Europa League and with a shout for a top-four spot in the Premier League, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United manager, feels his squad is starting to reflect his philosophy and isn’t far away from challenging for the Premier League title.
Pledging to build a robust team which plays with pace and power, Solskjaer started a repair job at Old Trafford by recruiting young domestic talents in Daniel James, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Harry Maguire.
The Norwegian manager wanted to bring the halcyon days back at United by trying to inculcate the values which were prevalent under legendary former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
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Starting the ‘culture reset’ at the start of the 2019/20 campaign, United endured their worst league start in 30 years, failing to breach the 40-point barrier in24 games.
With management staring down the barrel, Bruno Fernandes’ arrival from Sporting CP in January sparked much-needed enthusiasm into a dejected Man United environment. Since his arrival, the Portuguese has lifted the performance levels- as Red Devils currently stand 12 games unbeaten.
After working on tactical and group aspects during a winter break in Marbella, finally, Solskjaer’s hard-work and philosophy became evident in United XI.
The spirit ran so high that out of the blue, Manchester United looked like a force to be reckoned with, despite injuries to key players Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba. Unfortunately, the momentum gained ceased abruptly due to COVID-19 lockdown.
However, with the resumption of football in England, Solskjaer is eager to finish the season on a high and evolve a step close to the target of challenging for European and domestic league silverware.
Speaking on his press duties before Red’s league clash against Sheffield United, Solskjaer provided his insight on how his team has developed over the season’s course(quotes via The Guardian)
"“City and Liverpool the last couple of seasons have put the standard where it should be to win the league,”“We’ve developed over the season and had a spell of 11 unbeaten. [Then we] added Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford to that and are thinking: ‘Yeah, we’re not too far away.’"
When quizzed upon the potential reinforcements, Solskjaer expressed his satisfaction with the current squad and hinted on deals to be done if feasible. His quotes read as follows-
"“I’m very happy with the squad. If there are any good deals to be made, players to make us better, of course we might have to spend some money. But the squad is great to work with and it’s moving in the right direction.”“We’re still not where we want to be, close enough to challenge for the Premier League trophy, but we take one step at a time. Hopefully we can challenge for the Europa League and FA Cup this season and the top four. Then, let’s see how much we can invest for next season.”“We’re getting closer and closer to the team we want to be and in the next eight [league] games we want to dominate and be tested.”"
After their clash against The Blades, Reds turn their attention to FA Cup as they travel to Norwich for a knockout tie against The Canaries on Saturday.
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