Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed he is preparing for life at Manchester Unitednext season, making plans for the summer transfer window and even featuring in club season-ticket promotions.
The caretaker manager has led United to 12 wins in his first 15 games in charge after replacing Jose Mourinho, but the club has made no announcement yet regarding a long-term appointment.
Yet Solskjaer has explained that he continues to plan ahead even if he is not making any assumptions that he will be handed the role beyond the end of the current campaign.
“Yes I have. We’ve been discussing the future of the club,” he told reporters on Friday when asked whether he had suggested playing squad changes for next season.
“We did that before I had won two or three games and all this talk about if I should stay or not. My contract is up in the summer but I still, as I’ve always done for Man United, give my 100 per cent and my best.
“You have to plan. Even if I'm not here, I still give my view on who I would like to see as a supporter.
“I’ve done a video shoot on season tickets so I’m pleading for them to get their season tickets,” he added. “If it’s me as a supporter or manager I don’t know, but they should still buy their season tickets because the club is going somewhere.
“It’ll be stranger to see yourself in the video if you’re not here but no, it’s not strange doing it. If my kids see a commercial with me in it and I’m back home in Norway that’ll be strange probably.”
The 46-year-old also insisted that he feels no nerves about games coming up, with Saturday’s clash with Southampton followed by trips to Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Wolves in three different competitions.
And while Sir Alex Ferguson used to call this period of the year ‘Squeaky Bum Time’, Solskjaer hopes his calm demeanour can also influence the players.
“I'm not a nervous guy. I need to relax, I need to enjoy it. I think my players see as well that I do enjoy this.
“This is the best time of their lives playing here. These are the times Man Utd players step up, when the going gets tough.
“You sign up for challenges, you sign up to rise to those challenges when you're at Man United. We've got Arsenal coming up, PSG away coming up, big games.
“These are the periods and times that make them stay in the history of the club.”
United now find themselves within five points of third-placed Tottenham, whose manager Mauricio Pochettino is thought to be Solskjaer’s main rival for the United job.
And the Norwegian says nobody should rule out a top-three finish.
“It’s important to look up and upwards. Of course the results have meant that we can challenge Tottenham now for that spot.
“It’s us Chelsea, Arsenal, we’re all chasing them. It’s going to be an exciting race and every single game is going to be very important. You need to make sure [to] tip the balance in your way.
“Every game is a big chance for the players to say that we want to stay and it’s the same for everyone around the coaching staff. We want to improve everyone, that’s our job.
“The better we do the bigger the chance to be here.”
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