Manchester United midfielder Fred has hinted that the club’s players are responding better to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer than to Jose Mourinho because he was also a player.
The Norwegian tactician was a big name for United during his playing days, starring for some of Sir Alex Ferguson’s best sides and having a starring role in their 1998/99 treble-winning season with the winning goal against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.
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Solskjaer is relatively inexperienced as a manager, but has done some fine work since he replaced Mourinho at Man Utd, and Fred has given some insight into why the team has responded so well to him.
Speaking to Trivela, the Brazil international said: “Ole is a great coach. He’s still a young guy, he’s going to grow a lot in football as a coach.
“He was a player, he understands how the player feels, and this is important for us in the squad. He added a lot, had a lot of experience as a player and is now starting to have that experience as a coach.
“He always helps us on the pitch, talking, he’s a very good guy, and I’m happy to be following his transition at United. I’m sure he will grow a lot, get a lot of experience and that he will become one of the great managers.”
This will no doubt be interesting for United fans to read, with Solskjaer not always proving popular during his stint as manager, despite being a club legend as a player.
Still, despite his ups and downs in his time in charge, Fred’s words suggest that he’s doing well to lift the mood behind the scenes, and that can only be positive for the long term.