Ole: United will never ever give up on the title

Friday 16 April 2021 13:30

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer discussed Eric Bailly, Marcus Rashford, marginal gains and the Premier League title in his press conference to preview Sunday’s match against Burnley.

The boss sat down with journalists on Thursday night after our Europa League quarter-final second leg against Granada, to discuss what promises to be a competitive top-flight game at Old Trafford this weekend.

Solskjaer’s men are second in the table and there remains a mathematical chance of winning the title, which Ole is not giving up on, but he is realistic about the prospect of leaders Manchester City losing three of their final six matches. 

Make sure you’re ready for matchday by reading the full transcript here…
United v Burnley: Watch Ole's press conference Video

United v Burnley: Watch Ole's press conference

Watch Solskjaer's pre-match press conference for his views on Bailly, Rashford, Burnley & marginal gains at home...

Do you think that Marcus Rashford will be able to start at the weekend? It must have been a big bonus that you were able to rest him against Granada…
“Big bonus that he didn’t have to put any pressure on his foot, yes. I have got to hope he can be available and not make it worse, that is the decision I have got to make so fingers crossed. He wasn’t due to be on the bench really, he didn’t train yesterday but just in case he put his hand up and said if needed I could do a job. So it is a decision I have got to make on Sunday morning. But he is important for us. It is a difficult one. You have to go by how Marcus feels in a couple of days.”

What is Eric Bailly's situation with availability? 
“Eric has been isolating back home in the Ivory Coast and he is back in England now and we hope he can be available for the weekend. Hopefully he can train tomorrow depending on how he feels within himself but he has had the tests today so we need to get the confirmation that he is still negative.”

There is also speculation about his future – is there anything you can say about that?
“Eric has played well when he has played. I know there has been speculation, we are talking to him about his contract so I don’t see any issues really.”

You talk about never ruling out anything. Is the title still a realistic target, is it practical?
“One of course we will never give up. Man United will never ever give up. This team, this club has had too many setbacks, too many great comebacks to have that in our DNA. But is it realistic, no because when you have a team so consistent as Man City have been you don’t expect them to lose three games out of the last six but as long as we do our job we know we want to finish the season strong. So one game at a time.”

The change from the red banners to black at Old Trafford, was it psychologically important to make a change?
“The devil is in the detail. I know it might sound strange but when you play at this level split second decisions can be the difference between winning a semi-final or losing a game so we have got to make everything we can. We always do that is why we have sports science, that is why we have physics that is why we do the coaching every little detail, every little gain I think every manager is the same. You can ridicule everything I said as much as you like but it is in our DNA to try to make the most of everything and that is what we do at Man United. We have the facilities to try to explore any little detail.”

If winning the title is unrealistic, you could make the top four for consecutive seasons and for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Is there any satisfaction in that, or do you go back to Sir Alex’s time and thinking you should be winning it and competing to win it?
“You have got to make progress step by step and that is the reality. But if you can manage second place, keep on winning and get second and if Man City win all their games or if we win all our games, you want to finish the season strongly and third last season and if we manage second then it is progress. That is not the end game. The end game is winning the league but we are not in the era of Sir Alex now we have had a transformation period since he left which always would happen because there is no-one better, will never be. He was the boss. he was the one who stayed here for so many years. It was always going to be difficult to replace him so it’s progress step by step and in the end if we do that well enough that is when you get trophies and league titles which is our ambition, that has always got to be the aim but everyone knows what I am talking about it is step by step.”

Going back to Burnley at Old Trafford last season, compared to now, what are the two or three things that have made the squad better?
“The last three games against Burnley we have conceded two goals. we have not won any of the last three home games against Burnley. It is a massive game for the players. Massive game for them to show the mentality that they have shown over the last 13-14 months because I think the attitude has been spot on. The determination, the bounce back ability the of not letting one defeat derail your season or lose the momentum. Get straight back on getting points or a win. The way the players have coped with the whole situation, the players I have to say they have impressed me. The coaches the little details they try and improve on. I said about the devil is in the details and our coaches there can’t be too many coaches around the world that look in to the detail as much as mine. I’m delighted to be working with them.”

Highlights: United 2 Granada 0 Video

Highlights: United 2 Granada 0

Edinson Cavani's volley and a Jesus Vallejo own goal secured our spot in the semi-finals...

Looking at the Champions League semi-finals, you have beaten PSG and Man City, so does that give you confidence that you are not actually that far away?
“Reality is that we are in the Europa League and they are in the Champions League so of course that is the reality but when you sit and watch the games and you know how well you have done at times against these you know you are not a million miles away. It is about consistency. Human nature sometimes you have little details go against you, margins go against you, we would have love dot have gone through in the group stage I felt we had done enough at one point but we just couldn’t get it over the line so now it is about improving again, improving and looking at them and taking inspiration from our good performances against them but also learning of  the bad performances and the bad performances we have had.”

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