Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed how Sir Alex Ferguson’s team talks are playing a major role in his Man Utd managerial career.
Manchester United will take on Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday night.
The side’s form has been a cause of worry for the Norwegian manager. Manchester United conceded a stunning defeat to Wolves at the Molineux Stadium – their second within a month to Nuno’s side.
As a result, United slipped to sixth position in the league, with Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal all leapfrogging ahead. Manchester United faces an uphill task to ensure a top-4 position and the game against Barcelona could set the tone for the rest of the season for Solskjaer’s men.
The United boss spoke to ESPN about his tenure as the manager of the side so far, and talked about how Sir Alex Ferguson’s lessons are helping Manchester United ahead of the Barcelona clash. Earlier, Juan Mata also talked about Sir Alex’s role ahead of the Champions League tie.
Solskjaer on Sir Alex Ferguson:
The Manchester United boss reflected on his time as a player at the club, stating that the team was second-to-none when it came to professionalism and team spirit.
“We challenged each other every day in training,” the manager began.
“There were fights and there was an inner justice that I’ve not seen in too many teams.
“We never, ever accepted anyone being below par in training. We kicked each other and we had to win every single day. That moved over into games and we never gave in. There was an unbelievable team spirit.”
Solskjaer stated that he wants the current crop of players to put in a similar effort, insisting that he wants to repeat the history as the manager.
“I want my players to really push each other and demand 100 per cent attitude from each other every single day. That’s the only way you can improve and it’s the only way you can win. We had something special.
“It’s a different group now and the challenge is ‘how can I make these players winners as we were?'”
“When I came back here as the manager I thought a lot about what makes a winning team. What does it really take to win on the biggest stage? I’m not one to sit back, rest on my laurels and think: ‘That was a great time’ – it’s more thinking about what did we do to get there.
“What did the manager tell us? What kind of master team talks did he have? When did he speak to us? All these little things.”
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What next?
The first leg will take place at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
