"I always dreamt about this job but I didn't think this year would come" - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer celebrates Manchester United anniversary

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
(Image credit: PA Images)

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has described his first year in charge of Manchester United as a "rollercoaster".

The Norwegian celebrated 12 months in charge at Old Trafford on Thursday, having replaced Jose Mourinho at the helm last December.

Solskjaer was initially handed the reins on an interim basis but was then made full-time boss in March.

And the former United striker admits it was always his "dream" to manage the club.

"It's been a rollercoaster," he told Sky Sports. "But it's been fantastic. It's been a year that maybe I didn't think was going to come but deep down in the back of my mind, I always dreamt about this job.

"I never fly off if we're doing well and I don't really get too down when it's going against us because it's a fine line there and fine margins between success and not-so-great results in football.

"I think that's me as a person. It's just looking forward to the next one and how I can make sure we do the job properly and that we're prepared for what's going to come.

"You've got to take the ups and the downs and the setbacks with the same mentality as when you're doing well. You're not going to see me in the dumps and you're not going to see me in the skies."

United improved their position in the Premier League with recent victories over Tottenham and Manchester City, but they remain four points adrift of the top four.

And Solskjaer believes the club must look to the long-term, particularly as he has significantly lowered the squad's average age since taking control.

"It'll take time as everything will do in football," he says. "We're such a young team that we're still going to see some inconsistency but you're not going to see us surrender - you're not going to see that.

"We want to get back into winning ways. We want to lift trophies, " says Solskjaer. "We've got two fantastic derbies coming up and some very important away games. We've also got the Europa League so of course, let's see where we are in May."

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Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).