United v Burnley: Ole's press conference in full

The Reds boss began with an update on the back injury that Marcus Rashford has suffered, before discussing the strength of his squad as we approach the final week of the January transfer window. 

Here, you can read a full transcript of Solskjaer’s latest press conference…

Ole, good morning. I'm just wondering if you've got any updates on how Marcus Rashford is from the medical team and how you plan to replace him short term or long term going forward?
“He won't be fit for this game, that's for sure. He will be out for a while. He'll get the time he needs to recover and of course we're always looking at improving the squad and seeing if there's anything out there, but nothing that I can talk about now.”

Was it an existing problem, or was it something that cropped up against Wolves in the FA Cup replay?
“He's not had that injury before, no. He complained a little bit the last time we played Burnley, he felt it the first time, and we managed him as well as we could. Then he had some days off with treatment, we took him off in some games, he didn't start every game and then suddenly this was a new injury, so he didn't have any injuries before then, no.”

How is he? Because it's obviously a blow considering he's playing the best football of his career…
“Yeah. Marcus is good, he's a positive guy and he knows that this is not what he wanted, but he's always positive. He wants to get back as quickly as possible, but as safely as possible, so we'll give him that time and when he feels ready and medically we've cleared him he'll be back.”

You've blooded plenty of youngsters this season and you've got the likes of Mellor and Ramazani in the Under-23s. Is this too soon for them as an opportunity?
“It might be too early for them yet. Of course Mason is going to get more chances now, Juan will have to step up again, so there'll be more chances for the ones we've got in the squad. We know we're stretched with numbers, with the injuries we've had, but we'll cope with that.”

Gary Neville yesterday pinned the blame for the recruitment issues over the last four or five years at Ed Woodward's door. Do you think that's fair?
“We've lost to Liverpool, a team that you all say are fantastic, and we've been in the game until the last kick of the ball and for me, that's strides forward. Of course we're disappointed losing the game, we don't want to be behind them in the league, but there were signs there that we are on the right track. Definitely. For me, now is not the time to start talking about the recruitment. For me now we're looking towards the next game against Burnley. Yeah, we're always looking to improve the squad, we're looking to improve the club, but from my mind now is not the time, Gary, to start that discussion.”

There are a lot of fans who look at the amount of money that's spent in transfer fees, the amount of money that's spent on wages, and look at where you are in the league compared to where Liverpool are, for instance, and they think that's just not acceptable…
“Well you can look back at history and of course we know we're not where we want to be, where we should be and historically where we have been, so it's just down to us now to work better. I've been here 12 or 13 months and my experience with the players we've brought in have been good, so I can't complain whatsoever.”

How confident are you that you'll have new faces, come the start of February?
“Well you're never 100 per cent sure that something is going to happen until it happens, so we'll update you if something happens.”

Can I just ask you about Burnley?
“Please! Because we are actually playing them!”

At the weekend they had a big win against Leicester City after four defeats. Does that change the way you look at them?
“No, not at all. We played them two or three weeks ago. We had to work really hard to get the points. We played well, we defended really well and every time we play against Sean's team we know we have to earn it. Last season here was the first time I saw the players coming back from a setback. We were 2-0 down with seven or eight minutes to go, we got back into the game with 2-2, so we're going to approach this game as we would do if they had won five in a row. They'll always give you a tough game.”

And what do you think about Sean Dyche?
“He's doing fantastic, I have to say. We can talk about resources and his players, we can talk about us being stretched, that we're missing players now. Of course he's missing Ashley Barnes and they've got players that can come in.”

What are your thoughts on the news of the FA charge this morning, relating to the Roberto Firmino goal that was disallowed? Do you think the players overstepped the mark?
“Maybe I shouldn't talk too much about that. Let's get that decision done. It was overturned. I reacted myself, because everyone can see it's a foul.”

Reading this in our app? If not, you might miss some exclusive features not found on ManUtd.com. Download the Official App here.