Wins & Losses: Ole Gunnar Solksjaer Proud of Manchester United Tenure

Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s tenure as Manchester United manager ended a month shy of three years. Originally tasked as a caretaker in December 2018, a string of positive results and steady improvements landed him the full-time role and a contract extension in the summer of 2021.

In an interview with Manchester United Television, the manager said of his tenure: “Very, very proud….It’s been a ball, it’s been absolutely enjoyable from the first to the last minute, so I have to thank all the players because since I came in, they’re top lads, top people…. I really hope that I leave it in a better state than when I came.”

Solksjaer spoke of the best moments of his United tenure, his eight-game win streak to start, an away unbeaten run, and United’s 3-1 second-leg victory over France's Paris Saint-Germaine in the Champions League round of 16.

While successes were discussed, he also reflected some of his failures.“We were so close in Europe," he said of the team's loss in the Europa League final. "Sometimes that’s the fine margin for you, one penalty.”

“Yeah, you might say so and go back and say if you won the Europa League, that would have been a success. But you know, it’s not always the trophies all the time that is the be all and end all," he said. "But that’s fine margins, we know the work we’ve put in is so important, to get to that final and to get so close, we’ve had to make so many good decisions along the way. Unfortunately, we couldn’t score 11 penalties on the bounce.”

Solksjaer detailed how much managing Manchester United meant to him and how much he cares about the fans. He said he is rooting for whoever will take over, and he won’t rule out managing again. He added, however, that he’ll use this time to be with his family in Norway.

“I’ll spend some time with my family. That’s been probably the most difficult part, through the pandemic, with Norway being open and here being closed, my family moved back to Norway and the young one, he loves it back there, so we’ve lived apart. So, I’ll spend some time with them.”

Solksjaer’s Manchester United tenure ended much as it began. He took over a team in sixth place and 19 points off the leaders after 17 games, and leaves the team in eighth and 12 points off the leaders after 12 games.

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Solksjaer was officially removed from the team following a 4-1 defeat to Watford.

The loss prompted the Manchester United board to call an emergency meeting that ultimately decided his fate. While Solksjaer’s spell at United will be viewed by some as a disappointment, he helped undo toxicity that permeated the club during the reign of Jose Mourinho.

As a slight consolation, Solksjaer quipped, “I don’t want to pre-empt anything but the two times I’ve left Molde, they’ve won the league the year after, so all the best to whoever takes over – that’s the expectation!”