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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: Attitude and motivation has to come from within

by Marwan Harraz

Manchester United have released their travelling squad for the Atalanta game and there are some interesting inclusions and exclusions from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

United’s travelling squad

Goalkeepers: David De Gea, Dean Henderson, Tom Heaton.

Defenders: Eric Bailly, Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Alex Telles, Raphael Varane, Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Midfielders: Bruno Fernandes, Fred, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, Scott McTominay, Paul Pogba, Donny van de Beek.

Forwards: Amad, Edinson Cavani, Mason Greenwood, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho.

Some interesting points to make is that Pogba travels because his suspension following the red card vs Liverpool won’t carry over into European football.

The talented Frenchman missed the win over Tottenham Hotspur and will miss the upcoming clash vs Manchester City on the weekend so expectations are he will start vs Atalanta.

Amad returns after finally shaking off his injury whereas it’s been confirmed Victor Lindelof hasn’t travelled because of a knock he got in training.

In his pre-match press conference, Solskjaer said: “When you’ve got a fully fit squad at Manchester United, there are always going to be good quality players not playing and that’s been happening lately.

“Some players have had to do with a place on the bench and you have to take the opportunity when you get it. You have to train well and I can’t fault them at all.

“The attitude and motivation also has to come from within. That’s always going to happen at Manchester United.

“Players are going to go through difficult spells when they’re not playing and then your character is revealed.

“When you’re at a place like this, we’ve got so many players, we don’t have time for anyone to sulk or not give energy to the team.

“If you’re not in the starting XI, you are there to support your team-mates. And if you come on, you do your best. If you don’t even come on, you think about the single best thing you can do for the team [to support it].

“The attitude was spot on. Yeah, I understand players want to play. No-one is happy when they don’t play. Squad morale has been really good and it has to be. It’s the team before any individual.”

Solskjaer is far from being safe just yet and will need to grab wins against Atalanta and Manchester City before some pressure can be relieved.

In truth, even if United beat both teams, fans are demanding more than just victories and want to see a cohesive tactical plan put together.

Supporters want to see good performances now and not just good results as they lose their patience with Solskjaer.

The former striker has been at the helm for almost three years and there are those who feel there’s not enough evidence to suggest he will ever deliver silverware.

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