Former Man United Striker Solskjaer Appointed Caretaker Manager
19th December 2018
He will be joined by Mike Phelan as first-team coach, together with Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna
- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was on Wednesday named as Manchester United's caretaker manager until the end of the 2018/19 season following the sacking of Jose Mourinho
- Solskjaer will take charge of the first team with immediate effect and will remain in place while the club looks for a new full-time manager
- Mourinho was axed on Tuesday after just two-and-half years in charge at Old Trafford, with the 20-times English champions languishing in sixth place in the Premier League, 19 points behind leaders Liverpool
- Solskjaer joined United as a player from Molde in 1996 and was part of Alex Ferguson's team that won the treble of the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in 1998/99
MANCHESTER, United
Kingdom- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was on Wednesday named as Manchester United's
caretaker manager until the end of the season following the sacking of Jose
Mourinho.
The former United striker will take charge of the first team
with immediate effect and will remain in place while the club looks for a new
full-time manager.
Mourinho was axed on Tuesday after just two-and-half years
in charge at Old Trafford, with the 20-times English champions languishing in
sixth place in the Premier League, 19 points behind leaders Liverpool.
Solskjaer, 45, will be joined by Mike Phelan as first-team
coach, working alongside Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna.
"Manchester United is in my heart and it's brilliant to
be coming back in this role," said the Norwegian. "I'm really looking
forward to working with the very talented squad we have, the staff and everyone
at the club,"
Executive vice chairman Ed Woodward said: "Ole is a
club legend with huge experience, both on the pitch and in coaching roles.
"His history at Manchester United means he lives and
breathes the culture here and everyone at the club is delighted to have him and
Mike Phelan back. We are confident they will unite the players and the fans as
we head into the second half of the season."
United appeared to accidently announce the appointment on
their website on Tuesday, with a video posted on the club's official website
celebrating Solskjaer.
A video of him scoring the winner for United in their 1999
Champions League final triumph against Bayern Munich was accompanied with the
headline 'The most famous night of Ole's career'.
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg also appeared to
confirm Solskjaer's appointment on Twitter.
On Wednesday she tweeted: "FINALLY CONFIRMED! Great day
for Norwegian football. Good luck keeping control of the Red Devils,
@olegs26_ole."
Good choice
Solskjaer joined United as a player from Molde in 1996 and
was part of Alex Ferguson's team that won the treble of the Champions League,
Premier League and FA Cup in 1998/99.
He scored 126 goals in 366 appearances for United between
1996 and 2007 and in 2008 he became the club's reserve-team manager, before
taking the managerial role at Molde in Norway.
The Norwegian's first game in charge of Manchester United
will be Saturday's trip to former club Cardiff.
Solskjaer managed the Bluebirds between January 2014 and
September 2014, failing to stop them being relegated from the Premier League,
returning to Molde in 2015.
Speaking moments before Solskjaer's appointment was made
official, former United first-team coach Rene Meulensteen warned it would be a
huge job for the Norwegian.
"It would be a good choice in terms of the fact that
they want to bring back some of the spirit that was at United in the time of
Sir Alex Ferguson, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was a big part of that," he
told Sky Sports News.
"In that respect I can understand they were looking for
a candidate who can live up to those expectations.
"If they do decide for Ole and Ole decides to accept
then again it is a big ask for everybody. But I think in the short term it
would be a good choice to make."
Molde have confirmed that Solskjaer will return to the club
in May, with chief executive officer Oystein Neerland saying they are happy to
"lend" their coach to United.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino and former Real Madrid
boss Zinedine Zidane are among the bookmakers' favourites to take the United
job on a full-time basis at the end of the season.