Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s appointment as the interim manager of Manchester United this week has garnered a fairly tempered reaction from the fanbase.
Whilst many a diehard still holds a special place in their hearts for the ‘Baby-Faced Assassin’ thanks to the Norwegian’s impact in the 1999 Champions League Final, enabling Manchester United to become the first English club to achieve the continental treble, equally a fair portion are still concerned of his managerial pedigree.
Solskjaer has been managing Norwegian side Molde for the second time since 2015, who have finished second behind Rosenborg in the Eliteserien for the past two seasons, and sixth preceding that.
The 45-year-old has dipped his managerial toes in the Premier League only once before with a failed spell at Cardiff City, coincidentally his first opponents as head of this upcoming weekend.
During his time at the Bluebirds, however, and something that will no doubt endear him to the sceptic are the comments that have re-merged in a post-match interview.
As Cardiff trudged towards relegation to the Championship with the former Norway international at the helm and following an eye-watering dog’s dinner of a game in March 2014 in which his side eventually lost 6-3 to Liverpool, Solskjaer was asked about how his opponents were faring in the season.
“You’ve played it title winning teams at Manchester United, would you assess Liverpool as a title winner this season?”
Bluntly, brilliantly, the man who spent 11 silverware hoarding years at Old Trafford responded:
“Couldn’t care less.”
Jeff Stelling on Sky Sports accurately asserted that his retort was "Spoken like a true ex Man Utd man!” whilst Phil Thompson was left visibly aghast.
Memorably in the 2013/14 season, Liverpool had their fingertips almost on the trophy for the first time since 1990 before captain Steven Gerrard’s iconic slip against Chelsea, which has ultimately come to define his career despite all his impact for the club.
This year, Liverpool have made an admittedly stonking start to the new season, are top of the table one point ahead of incumbent champions Manchester City, and undefeated after 17 games.
There is a real belief among Merseyside reds that Jurgen Klopp is the man to end Liverpool’s agonizingly long three-decade wait for the title.
Liverpool remain second favourites at 5/2 (WilliamHill), behind City, to win the 2018/19 Premier League.
You can watch the clip of Man United’s new manager quite rightly not giving two flying Christian Fuchs about Liverpool below.
