Ole: Spurs and City games won't define the season

After Sunday’s disappointing 2-2 draw with Aston Villa, the boss is eager to bounce back immediately with two wins over the next four days, and is keen to continue our impressive recent run against the Premier League’s top sides.

United have already beaten second-placed Leicester City and fourth-placed Chelsea at home in 2019/20, while we are still the only team to have taken league points off leaders Liverpool this season.

Therefore, the boss believes we are more than capable of taking maximum points from our two games this week, although he was quick to highlight that a few days cannot define the course of an entire campaign.

“Four days, that's not going to change a whole lot,” Ole told reporters during his press conference to preview the Tottenham clash.

“Of course these two games are great chances for us to prove things and prove to ourselves that we can continue in the vein we've had against some of the better sides. We've had some good results against good teams and we've got a plan for Wednesday night,” he added.

Sunday’s result left United eight points off the Champions League places and Ole knows we must find a way to turn recent draws - such as those against Villa and Sheffield United in our last two outings - into victories.

“Yeah, we've had too many draws for my liking, and some defeats as well, but we should have turned those draws into wins and football is a results business, of course,” said the boss. 

“We're not happy, we know that we can do better and we're working hard to get those results on the board. The work that is going on here is always geared towards us improving, but we're not getting all the results that we have deserved.”

Wednesday’s game at Old Trafford is, of course, a significant one due to the return of former manager Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese coach oversaw 144 matches as Reds boss and led us to success in the Carabao Cup and Europa League in 2017. For that reason, Ole believes Mourinho will receive a warm reception from the Old Trafford faithful on Wednesday night.

“The supporters of this club, they remember the two-and-a-half years he was here. He won trophies, so for me, I'm 100 per cent sure that our fans will welcome him, [as will] the staff and the club.”

However, Ole rejected any notion that the United players will be more determined to win on Wednesday because they are facing their former boss.

“I don't think whoever the manager of the opposition team is will change their motivation,” he said. “They're motivated to do well for Man United, and for us as a group going forward, because they also know that it's about proving themselves every time, every day in training.

“Every time you step out onto that pitch, it's a chance to prove that you should be part of this club in the long term and that's always been the case at Man United. When you put that shirt on it doesn't matter who you play against, you've got to give it your all.”

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