Solskjaer can bring positivity back to Man Utd if he have learned from Cardiff

I took over as caretaker manager of Cardiff after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked and though it didn't work out for him there I can see his style being better suited to this Manchester United team.

He is very calm, level-headed, and thoughtful. Knowledgeable too.

I can remember speaking to him before he signed me in the summer of 2014 and he was talking about one Cardiff player, but he was discussing personal things. These weren't traits he could have seen on the pitch, which surprised me. Knowing players was something Sir Alex Ferguson was very good at, obviously.

That's what United need at the minute, a manager who treats people how they deserve and makes players feel good about themselves. I think he can bring that positivity back.

You hear what Jose Mourinho was like around the training ground, creating a bad environment for staff all the way down to the tea lady, but Ole is very likeable and approachable.

I can imagine him sticking an arm around players, making the dressing-room more relaxed, which for a squad stripped of confidence is essential.

His time at Cardiff was a totally different scenario. One of the problems, particularly in the Premier League, was that he changed the style of play too much. He tried to transplant those attacking United traits onto the Cardiff team and and that didn't really work. The players were used to Malky Mackay's ways.

Then in the Championship, when I came in, you didn't feel there was harmony in the dressing room. It was a big squad and he added to it, although I'm not sure all the signings were his. This meant there was almost a breakaway group who knew they wouldn't play.

It was hard for him to get a settled XI and some momentum going. He tended to rotate the team, which perhaps was a mistake. But it wasn't an easy job. I got a taste of just how difficult in my five games in charge.

He actually recommended me to take over temporarily after being sacked, which showed his class.

Before that he had thought I'd be good to get in as player-coach as he knew how much the club meant to me. He was always on the training pitches but didn't take all the sessions. He had great faith in his coaching team.

Occasionally he was within himself in the dressing room. You might come in after a defeat and be expecting him to tear strips off one or two and it didn't really happen. He is quite softly spoken.

But he will have learnt from those experiences and become a better manager since then. And he will be taking on a team of top players, where it is about creating harmony and giving the freedom back.

He knows the principles of United and his job now is about putting the building blocks in place for whoever takes over in the summer.

Getting the side performing the right way, and making players feeling confident. I think fans will forgive some bad results if the team is going out attacking.