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Solskjaer has finally been appointed the permanent Manchester United manager after impressing as interim boss. It was more of a question of when than if, however, the Norwegian will be happy that is finally confirmed. There has been a big change in form since he took over from Mourinho. All the players seem to be playing with more confidence and seem much happier in general. United initially wanted Solskjaer to only take over until the summer so they could pursue their two main targets, Zidane and Pochettino. However, the form improvement has led to the Manchester United hierarchy decided that he is the right man for the job fulltime.
One of the problems that United have had since Sir Alex Ferguson retired is that none of the managers who have come in have really understood the club’s philosophy. Moyes was unfortunate because he inherited an aging squad and he wasn’t given much time to implement his ideas. Van Gaal played very defensive and unattractive football which did not sit well with the fans. Mourinho came in and even though he also played defensive football he had the support from the fans at the beginning, but as results turned then the fans also turned on him. Solskjaer spent 9 years at Manchester United and scored that famous winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final to win their final piece in the treble. He knows the club and the culture and is trying to bring back attacking exciting football which is what they are known for.
After the appointment Solskjaer was delighted:
“This is the job I have always dreamed of doing,” Solskjaer said. I’m beyond excited to have the chance to lead the club long term and hopefully deliver the continued success that our amazing fans deserve.”
It can be seen what it means to him to manage the club that he spent so many years at and where he had so much success. He wants to bring back the glory days to United and help them become one of England’s top teams again. His record since he has taken over has been very good, with no losses in his first 11 games. Now he has won 14 out of the 19 games he has coached while he has only lost three of those. This is a very good record and he will be looking to end the season on a high. Solskjaer will want to try to bring in some defensive reinforcements for next season, and if he can do that and keep his players performing the way they are now, then he will be able to mount a title challenge.
