'Solskjaer will make Man Utd players smile again'

The former Red Devils defender is delighted to see a familar face back at Old Trafford, with the general mood around the club expected to improve

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is being backed to get Manchester United enjoying their football again, with Wes Brown seeing smiles on faces after a testing period under Jose Mourinho.

The Red Devils have opted to make a change in the dugout after finally running out of patience with their Portuguese former coach.

A familiar face has been handed the reins on an interim basis until the end of the season, with Solskjaer charged with the task of salvaging a disappointing campaign.

It remains to be seen if he is capable of delivering on that remit, but Brown believes a feel-good factor will be returned to Old Trafford under his tutelage.

The former Red Devils defender told United’s official website: “Ole is a top guy. A nice guy and he was great to play with.

“Obviously, he’s now managed a couple of different teams and he’s coming back in, which is brilliant. The board made the decision and opted to bring Ole in.

“I am sure he will be getting a smile back on the lads’ faces. He’ll be trying to get them to enjoy their football and, at the moment, it’s what we need.

“Ole coming in until the end of the season gives the whole club a boost and hopefully we can get some good results with him in charge.”

Solskjaer’s reign will be opened at Cardiff on Saturday, with Brown expecting a former striker who was always fully committed in his playing days to have United well prepared for the challenges to come.

He added: “Ole, as a player, was one of the best professionals I’ve been with.

“He was guy who came off the bench and scored goals and never lost focus. He was always committed and I do hope he will definitely bring those two things to the side and the players.

“I think he always made it known to the lads what he was trying to be and that is what he wanted to do – become a manager.

“I always thought he might be a manager because of the way he watched games, even when he used to come on as a sub he used to watch defenders to see who was tired, who he could attack and which ones he might go at.

“Back then, some of those things were not really known at that time and doing it at such an early age, you could see he loved the game. So it didn’t surprise me one bit that he became a manager.”