Man Utd boss Solskjaer answers funny Keane and Ferguson question before Liverpool clash
Man Utd: Solskjaer confident forwards can be match for all
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has amusingly claimed he wouldn’t be scared of a crunching tackle from Roy Keane or one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s bursts of anger. The Norwegian is currently preparing for his side’s FA Cup showdown with Liverpool. And he’ll be looking to steer the Red Devils into the fifth round of the competition.
Solskjaer played under Ferguson for United, winning six Premier League titles during that time.
He was also at Old Trafford at the same time as Keane, who is widely considered one of the hardest midfielders to ever play the game.
Now, ahead of United’s showdown with Liverpool, he’s been asked whether he’d rather take a tackle from Keane or be on the receiving end of one of Ferguson’s temper tantrums.
And Solskjaer has insisted he wouldn’t be afraid of either.
Speaking to Sony Sports, the 47-year-old said: “I don’t worry about any of those really.
“I’d ride Roy’s tackles and I’ve had a couple of the hairdryers. I’m still alive.”
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Solskjaer said he’d pick Andy Cole over Dwight Yorke if he needed a goal in the dying stages of a game.
The Norwegian is also a fan of Indian takeaways, claiming he’s a ‘chicken korma sort of guy.’
Solskjaer was amusingly quizzed on whether he’d take Yorke or Eric Cantona to a party – and opted to go with the latter.
“Ooh ah Cantona yeah,” he said. “We had a party after he played his last game for United and it lasted until early morning.
“We left but he never told me, he never told us, he’d retired.”
Ahead of the match against Liverpool on Sunday, Solskjaer has praised Edinson Cavani, Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes for their fine showings of late.
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“I think that runs through the squad and that’s part of my thinking when you bring players in,” he said.
“You don’t just bring big talents in, you research their character as much as you can to have the right types.
“Because there are always players who think ‘there’s a game next week and I’ll still get my wages’. That’s the mentality we had to get away from.
“I wanted players to come here to push the boundaries, the levels and drive it on from the inside.
“It can’t come just from the outside. With players like Bruno, Edinson and Paul Pogba, I feel I have a dressing room that is driven to success. That makes my job easier – 100 per cent.
“When you talk the talk, you have to walk the walk.
“We had players here when I played – Roy Keane, Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs – they drove it on.
“When they spoke you knew you had no leg to stand on to argue, because you knew that they did it every single day.
“And that’s what we need from our players. Many of us in the game have been in dressing rooms where people talk – but you think what are you talking about?
“They talk the talk, but don’t really walk the walk.
“Put your money where your mouth is.
“But the players we’re talking about – Pogba and Cavani and Bruno – they’ve been there, they know what it takes and they demand it off their team-mates.”
Solskjaer also expressed a belief that United were improving – and his Old Trafford masterplan is coming together.
“I set out a plan myself, the club believed in it and then you have your fingers crossed,” he said.
“We thought step by step and not massive wholesale changes was the way forward.
“Sometimes you upset the apple cart too much if you do make too many changes. But slowly we have added experience and winning mentality.
“With Bruno coming in and also Edinson, Alex Telles and Donny van de Beek, in the summer, it’s brought a mentality that has added to us layer by layer. Suddenly we start winning games that are tight.
“Last season we’d have had four or five draws compared to the last-minute wins – especially away from home.”
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