Solskjaer made return to sidelines and how he set up Ten Hag at Man Utd

03 February 2023 , 08:27

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It's been a little over a year since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was relieved of his duties by Manchester United following a string of abject results.

The popular Norwegian had been expected to mount a sustained title challenge in the 2021/22 campaign after acquiring the likes of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo; instead, United were left lagging miles behind two of their biggest rivals in Liverpool and Manchester City as the turn of the year approached.

Solskjaer was eventually sacked in November 2021 following a chastening 4-1 defeat against Watford and returned to his native Norway.

Despite a lengthy hiatus from senior football, he has since returned to the touchline: it was revealed back in November, a full year after leaving his role at Old Trafford, that he has been helping out and coaching his son Elijah’s Under-14 team back home.

It may be a world away from Manchester United, but it was also reported at the time that Solskjaer has rebuffed advances from other clubs during his hiatus.

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While he has yet to return to top-level football, Solskjaer is still highly thought of in the game. Even though emotions were running high after his departure from Old Trafford almost 15 months ago, the former striker won plenty of plaudits for the manner in which he handled his departure and he bid a typically classy farewell to United fans.

Unsurprisingly, Solskjaer stressed in his exit interview that he would continue watching and supporting the team that had been in his heart for years. However, he also predicted that, in spite of recent results, his long-term successor would reap the rewards of the foundations he had laid during his tenure.

Speaking shortly after he was sacked, Solskjaer explained: “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.

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge of Manchester United for almost three years (Getty Images)

“So, I’ll spend some time with them. Then, I’ll watch the team of course and hopefully, the next manager comes in and I want to support him. I want him to be successful, hopefully I’ve laid the foundations for that to happen because I know I’m good at what I’m doing.

“I'm one hundred per cent sure to create a football environment, that's where I'm good at and at some point, I'll probably be back [working in football].”

Although Ralf Rangnick endured an underwhelming stint at the helm following Solskjaer's departure, Manchester United have flourished under the guidance of Erik ten Hag - just as his predecessor predicted.

Erik ten Hag has already made a big impact at Old Trafford after succeeding Solskjaer in the summer (Getty Images)

After losing back-to-back games at the start of the season, the Dutchman has managed to propel United back into the upper echelons of the Premier League. In addition to that, Ten Hag saw his side advance to the Carabao Cup final earlier this week and are also still involved in the FA Cup and the Champions League.

It remains to be seen how far Ten Hag will go with Manchester United this season; talk of a title tilt after a stellar run of results proved premature, but qualifying for the Champions League and capturing a domestic trophy would represent a remarkable turnaround.

And while few would have predicted that Solskjaer's permanent successor would make such an impact, the man himself had faith - and has ultimately been proven right.