Everything seems hunky dory at Manchester United right now.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has transformed the mood at Manchester United by allowing the players to express themselves on the ball and actually attack, something we only saw during José Mourinho’s reign when it was the only remaining option.
But Solksjaer is capable of playing bad cop too, as Jesse Lingard revealed to Sky Sports in the build up to United’s clash with Tottenham at Wembley.
“He has got a hairdryer in him,” Lingard said, drawing comparisons to Sir Alex Ferguson’s most famous man management technique.
“He will put his foot down and tell you how it is. That is what you need sometimes if a game is going well, you need a pick-me-up to remind yourself that you are a Man Utd player and you play with pride and passion. It’s not all jokes and smiles. We work hard and that’s what he wants. He wants 100 per cent from each player and everybody to know their job on game day. We are clued up through the week on what we need to do.”
Solksjaer faces his first proper test as United boss this afternoon, having been blessed with a run of relatively winnable games during his bedding in period. This match against Spurs will give more of an indication as to whether he is capable of managing the club long-term, as they come up against one of the best teams in the country.
Spurs are without some key players including Jan Vertonghen and Eric Dier, but go into this game having just beaten Chelsea in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea.
