Man Utd boss Solskjaer tells young guns to dazzle on the pitch – but be boring off it
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER has told his young guns to dazzle on the pitch — but be as dull as he was off it.
And any player who does not fall into line will discover the baby-faced gaffer has a ruthless streak to rival Sir Alex Ferguson.
While Manchester United’s season has stuttered along, one bright spot has been the emergence of another bunch of Old Trafford rookies.
It is the biggest crop of young talent in the first team at one time since the famous Class of ’92.
Kids such as Scott McTominay, 22, Mason Greenwood, 18 — a Europa League scorer on Thursday — Andreas Pereira, 23, James Garner, 18, and Brandon Williams, 19, have all laid down a marker.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 21, and Dan James, 22 today, are just out of their teens and even established striker Marcus Rashford is only 22.
But with stardom comes the danger of being sidetracked by bright lights, hangers-on and social media.
And Solskjaer warned that anyone being distracted by the off-field fun will find their United career is a brief one, whatever the talent.
The ex-forward, who played for United for 11 years, explained: “Sometimes it seems you’re a footballer so you can experience so many different things. It should be quite the contrary.
“You can do all the other stuff after your career. That’s the way I was — I was boring. Loads of my team-mates were boring too — but that’s why we became successful.”
Back in Solskjaer’s playing days, manager Fergie infamously kept tabs on any of his wonderboys who were tempted by the high life.
He memorably even turned up at Lee Sharpe’s house one evening when he heard the then teenage winger and a few of his young team-mates were having a party.
Solskjaer, whose side host Brighton today, reckons the advent of social media means it is even easier to discover what his stars are up to — and he can be just as tough as his old boss.
He added: “Now it’s impossible to do something because I get to know! That’s just the way the world is now. The boys know I trust them and some of them know that if they break that trust, I’m not as lenient and nice as this.
“If you don’t make sacrifices, you’re just passing through. Maybe you stay here for a couple of years and that’s it.
“But the most successful ones have made sacrifices and have stayed for long. That’s why Michael Carrick, me and Mick Phelan are here on the staff now.
“I have told all my teams, all my players, all the time, ‘Sorry, you’re a footballer, you’ve got to be bored, get used to being bored.’”
In the past the likes of Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard have taken flak for various Twitter and Instagram activities.
Solskjaer refused to point the finger at any individuals but the message was clear to every one of his stars — get sidetracked too much and you’ll be shunted.
He said: “I made the most of my career. I want these boys to get the most out of their career
“We just have to make sure there are no other things on our minds than football. We’re a big club and we’re doing commercial stuff.
“But in between games, from when you start in July to when you end in the middle of May, football should be your only thought.
“These are young boys and as soon as they realise the focus has to be on the football and not the other stuff, and to just do what you’re supposed to in your contract, then that’s it.
“I don’t want to name names. I’m just saying I was boring, I trust these boys and they know I give them freedom to make decisions — but the right ones.”
Meanwhile, Solskjaer reckons Wan-Bissaka’s England snub could be a long-term blessing in disguise for the young full-back.
Wan-Bissaka missed out to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kieran Trippier when Gareth Southgate named his squad to face Montenegro and Kosovo in this week’s Euro qualifiers.
But the United chief believes that could actually help in the long run — because the same happened to him as a rookie player.
At the time Solskjaer was making a name for himself at Molde — who he had joined from another Norwegian side, Clausenengen — and was hotly tipped for a Norway call.
Yet was overlooked and Solskjaer admitted: “There were rumours about me being picked and it was ‘thanks’ that I didn’t because I was just getting used to the Norwegian top league.
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“Aaron’s coping really well with the move he made here. It’s not long ago he played in the reserves at Crystal Palace, then he played a great season last season.
“Now he’s taken this club by storm because we all rate him really highly as a player and a person.
“He’s not a flash guy, he’s been fantastic and I don’t worry about him not being picked. I’m sure he will get his chance later on.”