Manchester: Manchester United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he will not be satisfied with a top four finish in the Premier League as he targets success in two cup competitions in the second half of the season.
Sixth-placed United have won all their six Premier League games since Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho to close the gap on fourth-placed Chelsea from 11 points to three, while they are still in the FA Cup and Champions League contentions.
“For Man United you should always aim to win the league,” he told reporters ahead of Tuesday’s late night league clash against Burnley. “We can’t do that this year, but we have to get back to the challenge. We’ve got the Champions League, we’ve got the FA Cup, we can’t just say we’ve got top four and that is it.”
United’s last trophy – the Europa League – came in 2017 but they have not won the Premier League since former coach Alex Ferguson’s final season at Old Trafford in 2012-13.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Mauricio Pochettino, still in the frame to become United’s eventual long-term manager, has claimed a top-four finish and Champions League football is his club’s primary target and not silverware.
But Solskjaer, who won many trophies at Old Trafford as a player under Alex Ferguson, has other aims. “I am not here to discuss what Pochettino says and what other managers say but we are about winning trophies, of course we are,” said Solskjaer.
“And we can’t win the league this year, we are still in the cup, we are going to try to win the FA Cup of course. I think every manager wants to win every game so I don’t think that is the point he was making.
“If you win trophies that’s a fantastic day for everyone in the club, it’s just the best time of your life, that day when you win because you never know when the next one is going to come.”
Although Solskjaer admits a league title challenge is unrealistic this season, he backs the squad to catch Tottenham, who are seven points ahead in third place. “We are sixth at the moment, so we are a way off the top teams. We are challenging to be top three at the moment,” the Norwegian added.
“It’s about reorganising and just starting next season to be ready to challenge and get more points.” United will play defending champions Chelsea in the FA Cup fifth round on February 16, four days after they take on French champions Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League last 16.
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Manchester United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has maintained a 100 per cent win record with eight consecutive wins in all competitions