Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken a veiled swipe at Jose Mourinho by insisting “a lot” needed to change at Manchester United after taking over from the Portuguese boss.
Solskjaer and his predecessor Mourinho were scheduled to go head-to-head with United having been due to travel to Tottenham on Sunday, but the Premier League has taken the decision to cancel all fixtures until April 3 following an emergency meeting on Friday morning after Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive for the coronavirus.
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Solskjaer had suggested he inherited a mess at Old Trafford when he replaced Mourinho in December 2018.
“I felt a lot needed to be changed,” Solskjaer said.
“I believe that we’re going places. I believe that we’re on the track that Man United need to be on.
“There are different cultures at different clubs and different ways of doing things and believe in the way we do things at Man United now.
“I don’t necessarily believe in everything we’ve done before but at the moment I believe in what we’re doing.”
United are on an 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions after the 5-0 win at LASK Linz in the Europa League on Thursday, though their return leg will not be played on Thursday following UEFA’s decision to cancel all Champions League and Europa League matches next week.
Their form has eased the pressure on Solskjaer after a mixed start to the season, and his team are now firmly in the hunt for a top four finish.
“I think I’m the right man but I’m not going to sit here and talk about that,” Solskjaer added.
“The proof is in the pudding at the end of the day.”
Spurs are without a win in six matches in all competitions as Mourinho deals with an injury crisis that has left him without a number of first team players, including striker Harry Kane and winger Son Heung-Min.
Solskjaer has also had to deal with injury problems this season — he is still missing Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford – – but the Norwegian has said he has taken a different approach in dealing with the issue.
“I don’t talk about those two, do I?” he added.
“I want to focus on the ones who are fit and the ones I have got.
“There’s a chance for new players to challenge for a place in the team. It’s part and parcel of this game that you do have injuries.
“We’ve managed well without some of our top players this season.”
