Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be aware of the importance of Sunday’s game
against Tottenham. He will know a win will take Manchester United right
back in the race for a much-needed top four finish. He will also know
that a triumph over opposite number Mauricio Pochettino will increase
his chances of retaining his dream job in the Old Trafford hot seat come
August.
Solskjaer - an interim anti-Jose Mourinho - has emulated the great Sir
Matt Busby by winning his first five games, but his beaming charm
offensive has been aided by a relatively friendly introductory fixture
list that could have been hand-picked by the 45-year-old Norwegian.
The
talk that Solskjaer might land the job full-time has got louder and
louder - but surely no truly convincing evidence has yet been presented
to back up that theory?
Now, however, it gets serious.
When Solskjaer takes United to
face Spurs on Sunday, we will discover more about his credentials, his
credibility as a potential full-time successor and whether the smiles
can be backed up with a big result rather than some early, if admirable, flat-track
bullying.
The run of games faced so far has comprised Huddersfield, Bournemouth and Reading at home, and Cardiff and Newcastle away.
The
statistics are impressive: five from five, 16 goals and only three
against and an average of 61.63% possession over those matches. He could
not have done any more. But the caveat has come in the kindness of those fixtures - with all due respect, any Manchester United manager and side should be winning those.
Throw in the constant claims that the
clouds rolled away once Mourinho paid his extras and drove away from the
Lowry Hotel after the limp loss to Liverpool and everything at Old Trafford is coming up rosy.
Solskjaer
has got the results required, unified a squad previously at odds with
its manager, reintegrated the huge talent of Paul Pogba and formed a
sound coaching team with Michael Carrick, the returning wise old head
Mike Phelan and Kieran McKenna.
He has a bottomless pit of
goodwill among everyone connected with Manchester United after 11
seasons at the club, which brought 126 goals in 366 appearances,
including the dramatic winner in the 1999 Champions League final against
Bayern Munich in Barcelona.
And, crucially, he is naturally more
comfortable in his surroundings at the 'Theatre of Dreams' than any of
the three successors to Sir Alex Ferguson: the out-of-his depth David
Moyes, the death by a thousand passes Louis van Gaal and the confrontational, divisive Mourinho.
So far. So good.
The true test comes now.
If Solskjaer can prove this is a serious rejuvenation by fashioning a
result at Spurs - a team still right in contention for the Premier
League title, and handsome winners at Old Trafford in August - then all
the positivity might actually acquire substance.
And Solskjaer has
the opportunity to strike a real blow for his profile if he can
outmanoeuvre Mauricio Pochettino, the favourite to be the next manager
at Old Trafford, on Sunday. What would that do for his long term prospects at the club? If the caretaker beats the contender, then what?..
This is the first real test for Ole as boss and it will be fascinating
to see how it pans out. Many fans and outsiders have reserved judgment
so far as we ‘haven’t played anyone good yet’ but the outcome of this
one could help make their minds up.
The odds, however, must still be on
United going for an experienced manager of proven quality rather than a
personality, no matter how engaging or ingrained in the foundations of
Old Trafford he might be.
And as and when the run of victories comes to an end, there will be other tests.
What
happens when he delivers bad news? The history of this season suggests
Manchester United's players are not quite as smiley when the going is
rough or when they are receiving messages that are more hardline, which
led to so much discontent under Mourinho.
United's squad, and star
players such as Pogba and Alexis Sanchez, were able to use Mourinho as
their shield. How will they, and others, react when Solskjaer tells them
something they do not like?
And what about United's hierarchy
who, with the best will in the world, were unlikely to have had
Solskjaer in mind as the man to drive them into a golden future
post-Mourinho?
Remember the cautionary tale of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and Roberto di Matteo.
The Italian succeeded Andre Villas - Boas with Chelsea on their knees in March 2012 and in two months had won the FA Cup and the trophy the Russian wanted most of all - the Champons League.
It was the greatest interim manager audition in history, yet Abramovich never seemed convinced but was in a corner.
He
eventually gave Di Matteo, a manager of modest previous attainments, a
two-year deal. He was sacked in November and has since reverted to
modest mode.
And yet Solskjaer, if he can prove these early
results are not simply a soft landing, has the capacity to give
executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward a similar dilemma.
The top
four and the Champions League places are only six points away and key
dates are also coming at Arsenal in the FA Cup fourth round and against
Paris St-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League.
If Solskjaer can steer United through those two assignments, the bandwagon will be rolling at high speed.
One
thing is certain - we will know a lot more about how good Solskjaer and
this miraculously rejuvenated Red Devils team are on Sunday night.
And a lot more about whether Solskjaer can really be taken seriously as a future Manchester United manager.
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