Solskjaer: The players must be confident

Since United last faced Liverpool in December, the Reds have gone on a run of eight wins and a draw to rise from sixth to fourth in the Premier League table with victories against Tottenham and also in the Emirates FA Cup, over Arsenal and Chelsea, being the standout performances.

Speaking to MUTV's Stewart Gardner in his regular pre-match interview,  Solskjaer described how this run has given everybody at the Aon Training Complex a spring in their step, as well as what the fierce rivalry between United and Liverpool means to him ahead of what is a key game for both sides.

"It gives us confidence and it gives us belief that we’re doing something right," Ole said. "It must give the players confidence. When you play games and win games and you perform. That’s to build to the next step, that process of where we want to get to. We want to get up the table and want to get a playing style going and, when you get wins as well , they see it working so they buy in so much easier, everyone."

Of course, Ole knows this fixture well having famously scored a late winner when the two sides met in the FA Cup in 1999 as the Reds powered towards the Treble. However, when asked about the magnitude of the game, our caretaker manager said he was doing all he could to ensure the players stay focused in what will be an emotionally charged 90 minutes of football for those watching and those playing.

"It’s the two biggest clubs in England, the two most successful clubs over the last three or four decades," he said. "That’s top, top rivalry. For me, I’ve scored a couple of goals against Liverpool and they meant a lot. You could see how much it means to our fans.

"For us now, it’s Liverpool so it means a little bit more but we’ve got to concentrate on getting our points ourselves and not think about Liverpool. If you get too emotional, you take your eye off the ball and think about things that don’t really matter in the 90 minutes. It’s going to be like a cup game with the tackles flying in and the temperament there and one of the better games to watch, hopefully."

You can read the full Q&A with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the official Manchester United app. Download the app here.