Solskjaer ready to work alongside Technical Director at Manchester United

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said on Monday he was open to the prospect of working with a full-time technical director at the Old Trafford club.

The Norwegian, in doing this, has acknowledged the fact that a modern-day manager cannot shoulder the burden alone anymore.

Solskjaer was named Manchester United’s permanent manager on a three-year contract last week.

Now, he said he was in discussions with the club’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and co-chairman Joel Glazer to identify a solution.

“Football has changed and the structure at football clubs have changed,” Solskjaer told reporters at a news conference ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

“That’s just the way football goes. A manager can’t do as much as he used to do when my gaffer (Alex Ferguson) started, for example.

“Me and Ed and Joel, we’re looking at how this club can be run as smoothly and as well as possible.

“We’ll see what the club will end up with and I’m happy talking and discussing football with knowledgeable people in the right positions.”

Solskjaer also played down rumours linking Manchester United’s Paul Pogba to Real Madrid.

This had come after the French midfielder had said during the international break that the Spanish club was a “dream club for every player”.

“One of the issues is that the players are always available for the press,” Solskjaer said.

“He answered a general question about how any player would like to play for Real Madrid. He didn’t talk about himself, he’s happy here.”

Victory for Manchester United will allow Solskjaer’s side to temporarily move to third in the English Premier League (EPL) standings.

The 46-year-old said they had learned their lessons from the 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Wolves earlier this month.

“If we turn up against a good team like they are, not performing at our level, we’ll get the result we deserve,” Solskjaer added.

“Last time we didn’t play well enough against them, didn’t have enough tempo…

“We had the ball for 70 percent of the time but sometimes possession doesn’t mean you’re going to create chances and score goals.”

Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku are fit for the trip to Molineux but Solskjaer said Alexis Sanchez, Eric Bailly, Antonio Valencia and Matteo Darmian will not be in the squad.