Ole Gunnar Solskjaer welcomes Alex Ferguson back into Manchester United family made by Matt Busby
- Team will tour Australia, Singapore and China in the summer but global machine still shows family traits of club fashioned by Scots managers
- Norwegian’s seven wins from seven are making a case for him to become latest full-time appointment to replace his former boss
Like all Manchester United fans, Sir Alex Ferguson was all smiles with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Mike Phelan after a seventh consecutive win, the latest against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
The legendary manager now attends most home games, long days which take a lot out of him, so he takes it easy beforehand and help is always at hand. Away days are a rarity for Ferguson, but he’s loving watching United again with his family – especially now the family spirit is back at the club. Ferguson was with his wife and assistant coach Mike Phelan with his family and Solskjaer on Saturday.
United is a vast football club, but at its heart it always felt like a family, something the club’s other legendary manager Matt Busby encouraged. Hundreds of years of combined service lead to feeling; Kath, one of the people accompanying Ferguson on Saturday, started working at the club 51 years ago.
She also knew Busby well, the man born only 14 miles from Ferguson in nearby Glasgow. Busby died 25 years ago and fans paid their respects at the weekend.
Solskjaer’s winning start helps keep the enormous pressure than comes with managing a major football club at bay, as well as strengthening his case for taking the job permanently. If it’s working, why change it? Solskjaer’s not a big name but does he need to be?
He’d be far cheaper than employing Mauricio Pochettino, he’s already in situ and knows the club inside out. In Phelan, there’s a respected coach used to not only taking training sessions, but being a foil for the manager, someone to push back against the commercial demands of the club.