Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Appears to Take Swipe at Jose Mourinho After Negative Tactics Jibe

15 January 2019 21:31

Manchester United's interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appears to have taken a dig at his predecessor Jose Mourinho, claiming that the club is built around "attacking football" and "not stupid square backpasses."

The Norwegian was speaking after his United side sealed a sixth consecutive victory since he took charge with a 1-0 win over Tottenham at Wembley on Sunday.

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United - Premier League

After the game, Solskjaer took part in an interview with Malaysian television station Astro Supersport alongside former teammate Teddy Sheringham and ex-academy graduate Simon Davies where he intimated that being United manager is something that should bring joy - which should be reflected in an attacking brand of football.

"The first thing you talk about is that you do need to smile when you are a Manchester United player, you do enjoy it because when it’s over, you miss it," Solskjaer began, as quoted by The Sun.

“It’s about at attacking, it’s about pace, power, attack quickly. I know we didn’t have the best of pace but we still attacked.

“That’s what Man Utd is built around, attacking football and going forwards, not stupid square backpasses.”

Although Solskjaer's words may not have been intended as a slight against former manager Mourinho, they will inevitably strike a chord with a number of ​United fans who had grown frustrated at the negative tactics employed by the Portuguese tactician.

Often the Red Devils were conservative in their approach under Mourinho, opting to retain their shape and structure rather than throwing caution to the wind. That philosophy has been tossed out of the window since Solskjaer took charge, with United now looking to play more of a fast-paced counter attacking style of football.

Paul Pogba,Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Midfield superstar ​Paul Pogba has already hailed the "freedom" that Solskjaer has unlocked for himself and the side as a whole, and the results would appear to suggest that the former United striker has got his approach spot on.

The Red Devils now find themselves level on points with Arsenal in fifth place, and trail fourth-placed Chelsea by six points in the race for the final Champions League qualification spot.

Source: 90min