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Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | Ole Gunnar Solskjaer arrived at Manchester United’s training ground on Thursday to begin his role as caretaker manager after the sacking of Jose Mourinho.
United called time on Mourinho’s two-and-a-half years at the club on Tuesday, with the club languishing sixth in the Premier League, 19 points behind leaders Liverpool.
Solskjaer will be at the helm at Old Trafford until the end of the season, when the club will appoint a full-time successor. Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino is the current front runner.
The appointment of Solskjaer, who will take a break from his job as manager of Norwegian club Molde, was confirmed on Wednesday, with Alex Ferguson’s former assistant Mike Phelan also returning as first-team coach.
The pair link up at United with Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna, who took training on Wednesday.
Solskjaer, 45, established his status as a club legend with his dramatic Champions League winner in 1999 to seal the treble. He cut his coaching teeth as reserve team boss.
He will take charge of his first match on Saturday against Cardiff, where he spent an unhappy spell as manager in 2014.
“Manchester United is in my heart and it’s brilliant to be coming back in this role,” said Solskjaer. “I’m really looking forward to working with the very talented squad we have, the staff and everyone at the club.”
Mourinho won the Europa League, League Cup and Community Shield in his first year at the club before United finished runners-up in both the league and FA Cup, but things unravelled during the early months of his third campaign at the helm.
Mourinho had made his frustrations about the recruitment of players and the club’s decisions clear over recent months, but did not return to the subjects in a statement released the day after his sacking.
“I have been immensely proud to wear the badge of Manchester United since the first day I arrived, and I believe all United supporters recognise this,” Mourinho said in a statement to Britain’s Press Association.
