It was not a question of why, but a question of when. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer proved he could lead Manchester United and now he has been handed the permanent job as the team's boss, following his appointment as caretaker due to Jose Mourinho's dismissal.
The Norwegian boss, who successfully led the Red Devils to a shocking comeback in the UEFA Champions League against PSG, shared his views on the new responsibility on his shoulders and how he will try to handle the pressure from fans and experts.
Ole: "This has been my ultimate dream, maybe a naive dream, but I've always had that dream in my mind; to have this responsibility for this huge fantastic family of a football club. I'm so honoured to be given this fantastic responsibility to lead us forward." #MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 28, 2019
"I'm happy and honoured," says Ole. "It's a fresh start, it's the start of something new — now the hard work starts, now the enjoyable work starts." #MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 28, 2019
Then, the "new" boss revealed the reason behind his successful run...while aiming a cheeky dig at Louis Van Gaal for his recent words.
"It's about putting smiles on faces and creating an environment that everyone wants to be a part of and where everyone can be themselves," Ole says. "I just want to be the best Ole, that's the only promise I can give." #MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 28, 2019
Solskjaer seems to believe that the club is ready to battle for a spot among the top four with eight games to be played.
"We've given ourselves a great chance to finish in the top four or even top three," Ole says. "So that's the short-term target in the league, and the #PremierLeague is vital for us." #MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 28, 2019
Manchester United will face Watford this weekend, with their sights set on leapfrogging Arsenal -and even Tottenham- in the race to finish among the top four teams in the Premier League.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.