Image Source : AP Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Manchester United might be main the Premier League halfway by a season for the primary time in eight years on Tuesday.
Not that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer cares an excessive amount of.
“No one remembers the January league tables,” the United supervisor mentioned Monday, a day earlier than his staff performs away towards Burnley with the possibility of climbing above Liverpool into first place by avoiding defeat at Turf Moor.
The final time United was high after 17 video games of a league marketing campaign, Alex Ferguson was in cost in what proved to be the ultimate season of his lengthy managerial tenure at Old Trafford. United went on to win the 2012-13 title by 11 factors.
Since Ferguson retired, United hasn’t added to its document haul of 20 top-division titles, ending as low down as seventh place one season.
Solskjaer mentioned he believes it’s tougher to win the league in comparison with when he was enjoying underneath Ferguson from 1996-2007, throughout which era United was champion six instances and confronted challenges to its dominance from Arsenal after which Chelsea.
“It’s important for us to start to show ourselves up among the top four,” Solskjaer mentioned. “We have solely been high 4 3 times since Sir Alex left, so if we will try this once more after ending third (final season), when you can enhance on third, it’s progress.
“When I played, it was a different ball game. We were really disappointed if we didn’t win the league. We were third once, and most of the time we were challenged by one team. Now the league is different, so many other teams can challenge and look at themselves as candidates to challenge the top teams.”
Indeed, 4 factors separate the present high seven within the league approaching the midpoint of the marketing campaign. West Ham, in tenth place, is just seven factors behind Liverpool.
Second-place United is tied on factors with Liverpool, however behind on aim distinction. United performs at Anfield on Sunday.
“It’s that kind of season, that kind of year, that kind of situation,” Solskjaer mentioned, referring to the condensed nature of the pandemic-affected season, “and there can be ups and downs, much less consistency in outcomes and performances.
“For me, it’s exciting. As a fan, it’s more interesting of course when there are more teams in and around each other compared to last season when one (Liverpool) ran away.”
United has been enjoying catch-up all season, having began it per week later than most groups due to its involvement within the remaining levels of the Europa League in August.
Solskjaer’s staff additionally obtained off to a troublesome begin, dropping 3-1 at house to Crystal Palace in its first sport and 6-1 to Tottenham at Old Trafford in its third sport.
“Sometimes with the results we got in the beginning, it made it more difficult for the players, maybe,” Solskjaer mentioned. “It made it simpler for individuals to criticize us — you have a look at the desk and perhaps fear. Because a sport in hand is just good when you win it.
“It made it harder for players mentally to look at the table. Even if you don’t look at the table, people keep talking to you, keep talking away about your position.”
And Solskjaer struck a tone just like Ferguson when he spoke of March and April being the important thing months in a title race.
“The league table doesn’t matter now, but you pick up points and when you get to March, April, that’s where the league is going to be more or less decided,” he mentioned. “We knew that this season was going to be troublesome for us. We began later than everybody, we had this sport to catch up and we didn’t have a preseason.
“I remember I said that we just need to hang in there for a while … I meant picking up points, getting the performance right, get the points on the board and don’t let teams run away with it. We’ve done well.”
