Tottenham Hotspur host Manchester United at Tottenham Hotspur stadium in the fixtures at the weekend.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer claims his head-to-head with Mauricio Pochettino will be the first ‘proper test’ of his Manchester United reign.
The Norwegian can strengthen his bid to be given the job on a permanent basis with victory against Tottenham and the man leading the race to be named Jose Mourinho’s successor.
Pochettino is executive vice chairman Ed Woodward’s top choice to take over at the end of the season. But Solskjaer will do his own chances a world of good by coming out on top against the Argentine.
The 1999 Treble-winning hero continued his perfect start at United with a 2-0 win against Reading in the FA Cup third round.
He equalled Sir Matt Busby’s record of five straight wins as the start of his manager reign – but concedes Tottenham will provide his biggest challenge yet.
“Spurs away, Wembley, that’s a proper test,” he said. “We’re looking forward to that one. That will give me more of a reference for where we are against the top boys.
““We’re not happy talking about fifth, sixth or fourth in a year or two. The club needs to move on and move up the table.”
Solskjaer has made no secret of his intention to give Woodward a difficult decision at the end of the season.
United have already begun their search for their next permanent manager, with Pochettino, Max Allegri, Zinedine Zidane and Diego Simeone all under consideration.
Solskjaer was told that process would continue regardless of his results on the pitch – but he could establish himself as a serious candidate if he leads United to Champions League qualification.
Looking ahead to Spurs and potentially pivotal games against Liverpool and Paris St Germain next month, he is relishing the opportunity to prove his credentials.
“You never anticipate setbacks,” he added. “When you’re at Man United you expect to go into the next game and you expect the players to expect to win the game and I expect any Man United team I put out to win the next game.
“That doesn’t mean I expect us to win all the games because it doesn’t happen, but they do go into a game and expect to win that one.
“We need to use this week well to work towards that game, but also towards Paris St Germain, we’ve got Liverpool in February.
“You just don’t make it for the Tottenham game, we prepare for this one, we prepare for when we play the bigger and better teams.”
Solskjaer is convinced United will improve under him, despite already equalling Sir Matt Busby’s record of five straight wins at the start of his managerial reign.
“I think the players are getting confidence and the feeling that we have momentum,” he said. “It’s about keeping it up and let’s see where it takes us.
We’re always good towards the end of the season anyway.
“I’m not going to say top-four is our target because my target is the next game, but my target is also a certain way of playing.
“That certain way of playing will get us to where we belong in the end. I can’t say ‘if we get top-four it’s a success, if we don’t it’s not a success’, it depends on
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer however has confirmed an injury set back after offering an early team news update ahead of Manchester United trip to Tottenham at the weekend.
Solskjaer whisked his Manchester United squad off to Dubai this week for a warm-weather training camp after booking their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup with a win over Reading on Saturday afternoon.
The United players have been enjoying the fine weather in the Middle East but they’re still working hard in the intense heat as they prepare for Sunday’s crucial Premier League clash with Spurs at Wembley.
Paul Pogba sat out the FA Cup win at the weekend due to a knee injury after being on the wrong end of a horror-tackle from Jonjo Shelvey during United’s league win over Newcastle United last week.
The Frenchman initially stayed in Manchester to undergo treatment while the rest of the squad flew-out to Dubai but the midfielder later joined his team-mates in the UAE and took part in a light training session today.
Solskjaer has confirmed Pogba took a knock against Newcastle but is hoping the 25-year-old will be able to recover this week and put himself in contention to face Tottenham on Sunday.
Fred started against Reading at the weekend but the Brazilian midfielder hasn’t made the journey to Dubai as his partner is expecting a baby any day so it remains to be seen whether he’ll be available against Spurs.
The Man Utd boss also revealed that Rojo has been sent back to Manchester after suffering a set-back in his recovery from an injury that’s kept him out for the past month and the Argentinean international is set to once again miss out against Tottenham this weekend
United will be praying Pogba makes a swift recovery as he’s been in superb form since Solskjaer took over from Jose Mourinho last month and has played a key role in their recent upturn in form, that’s seen United win all five of their matches under Solskjaer.
However, United will be without Eric Bailly against Tottenham as he serves the final game of his three-match ban while Chris Smalling remains a doubt due to an on-going foot injury that’s hampered him in recent weeks
