Solskjaer to use secret 'Fergie diaries' for glory

Man United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Sollskjaer [Courtesy]

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer never thought anything would give him a buzz like his iconic 1999 treble winning goal in Barcelona.

Seeing the ball fly into the roof of the Bayern Munich net on that hot May night in Spain to win the Champions League was a split-second that defined Solskjaer and Manchester United.

How could he ever match that?

But the Norwegian has revealed being asked to guide United back into the light after nearly six years in the wilderness comes mighty close to that milestone moment.

And as he guided Manchester United against Cardiff on Saturday night as he began the task of restoring some pride into a club battered, bruised and drifting after Sir Alex Ferguson's trophy-strewn reign, super-sub striker Solskjaer admits he's got that special Nou Camp tingle again.

Ander Herrera celebrates scoring against Cardiff City in the Premier League [Courtesy]

“Wow. Is it comparable? Both yes and no. Because I make all the decisions now, the thrill is completely different.

“As a player,  you focus on that 90 minutes and preparing yourself. Now I have to prepare everyone else.

“When you were a player you just give your best and do what the gaffer asks you to do.

“Now I have to make decisions, I have to leave players out, but you’re part of a team that wants to do well. I’m here for the team and the club.”

He's also here to enjoy the challenge. Something brooding Jose Mourinho never managed in a joyless reign characterised by a near-permanent scowl.

And that's why Solskjaer has no sympathy for Mourinho – or any of the bosses that have followed – and failed – since Fergie.

“Do I feel sorry for a United manager? You never feel sorry for them. They've got the dream job.

“I never want anyone to feel sorry for me. There are always consequences to what your actions are.

“It's a big job, but a dream job. I never thought it was going to happen. I'm just going to enjoy these five months and do the best I can.

“It was always going to be difficult following Sir Alex, of course. But I'm coming in after two of the best managers in the world in Mourinho and Van Gaal.

“In fact, I am coming in after four fantastic managers. Results have been mixed but football and the Premier League has changed.

“Back then, when I played, we maybe had one challenger in Arsenal for a period, and then Chelsea.

“Now there are five or six teams challenging, so it is a completely different competition.

To do that Solskjaer, who scored 126 goals in 366 games for United, will use the “Fergie Diaries” - notes he made in his final seven years of an eleven years stay at the club.

“Early on as a player, I used to keep a training diary. It was just details of what we did in training” he recalls.

“But when I was about 27 or 28 I started making more detailed notes of what the gaffer actually said and how he reacted to different situations.

“So that would have been around 2000. Certainly, after an injury in 2003, I really started observing him.

“I wrote all these little gems, little inputs that he made. I used quite a few of them back home to be honest at Molde – and they worked!

Solskjaer is confident his side can make up the gap with the top four in the Premier League, drawing on his own experience in a side where he used to come to the rescue off the bench late on.

The Norwegian enjoyed a dream start as caretaker boss after succeeding the sacked Jose Mourinho this week as United thrashed his former club Cardiff City 5-1 on Saturday night.

The result, coupled with defeat for fourth-placed Chelsea, means that United sit eight points off the top four in sixth.

While the gloom under Mourinho this season meant United were drifting out of contention for a Champions League place, their emphatic win in Wales has started to bring them back in.

"We take one game at a time now. We've caught up eight or nine points before but we've got to go one step at a time," said Solskjaer.

"I was proud and humble at the reception from the fans, it has been an emotional week. But it's a start and we move on."