Three immediate tasks for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Manchester United manager
The eagerly anticipated announcement came today as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was made the permanent manager at Manchester United.
Make no mistake about it, Ole deserves the job and has restored key elements of the Manchester United DNA to the dressing room. He has grown into the role and hopefully leads the club to success.
NEXT: Arsenal and Barcelona target Brazilian whizzkid who had trials at Man Utd
Nobody saw this decision coming when he was given the caretaker role. Many wanted Mauricio Pochettino, who in the past month has not lost out on jobs at Real Madrid and United.
It’s going to be difficult for Pochettino to stay relevant on such a scale unless he starts delivering trophies at Tottenham.
But back to Solskjaer who now holds the biggest job in football.
Here are three immediate tasks for the Norwegian after being confirmed Manchester United manager.
Strong finish to the season
Perhaps an obvious one, but it’s about to get serious with eight games remaining in the league and the Champions League quarter-finals to look forward to.
So few games but lots of significance. It would be a kick in the teeth to miss out on the Champions League next season after going so close.
We handled the injury crisis but those players haven’t fully recovered yet, and some were away on international duty with Paul Pogba playing two sets of 90 minutes for France.
United looked exhausted before the international break and I’m a little considered as we head into the upcoming flurry of fixtures, starting with Watford on Saturday.
But Ole has passed all tests so far with green lights. We have plenty of reasons to believe he will continue getting the best out of his players, even those on the fringe of the team as seen against PSG.
Plan for the summer
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
Now the United players are fully aware of who will be their manager next season, some can either commit their long-term futures to the club or move on.
Ole must also plan how he wants his side to look next season, with the help of the summer transfer market.
United need a centre-back, full-back, right winger and possibly two central midfielders.
Unlike last summer, we must get this transfer window right in order to start next season the best possible way.
Show everyone who’s boss
We don’t see what happens behind the scenes, but there have been suggestions that Ole isn’t afraid to use the hairdryer.
Right now he’s in everyone’s good books, but that won’t always be the case. Not at a club the size of Manchester United.
It will be interesting to see how he handles the squad over the next three years. I have no doubt that there will be challenges, though I’ve really enjoyed his demeanour thus far. He seems approachable, understanding and in favour of being mates with his players.
Mourinho was too cold, unwilling to put his arm around players who I felt needed it at times.
