MANCHESTER UNITED BETTER THAN WHAT IT WAS 6 MONTHS AGO: SOLSKJAER

Ahead of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Manchester City, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said they have improved as a team in the last six months and is hoping to have “developed enough to go all the way to the final”.

The Reds made it to the last four of the Carabao Cup, FA Cup and Europa League last term, but lost to Manchester City, Chelsea, and Sevilla respectively. “I think so yeah, both in the development of the team and for our fans as well, that we are believing, we are hoping now that we get closer to a trophy and get our hands on that trophy. We are better than what we were six months ago in Europe, or the FA Cup semi, or definitely a year back when we got to the Carabao Cup semi. We’ve improved, we have developed and hopefully, we’ve developed enough to go all the way to the final,” the club’s official website quoted Solskjaer as saying.

In December, both teams played out a goalless draw in the Premier League. Solskjaer said the values they aim for are in the club’s name itself, that is “United”.

“I think it’s important that we know what we are working for and working towards. Many of us we’ve been successful here, we’ve won trophies, we’ve been here for many, many years and we know what it takes to be a Man United player and coach. I like that idea. It’s not a must. We’ve got coaches here as well, with Richard [Hartis], Craig [Mawson], Martyn [Pert], Kieran [McKenna], they’ve not played for Man United but they’ve got different skill sets and attributes that really make this coaching staff work,” he said.

“They all complement each other and that’s a key word: that we complement and challenge each other and move the club forward. We know what kind of values we want. It says in the word United: we are a team. We stay together and it’s a joy coming in and seeing these lads work every day. They help the players improve individually and spend so much energy on trying to improve the team as well. It’s a fantastic group,” Solskjaer added.