Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Paul Pogba, Mason Greenwood & Injuries Ahead of West Brom Clash
By Tom Gott
Manchester United turn their attention back to club football on Saturday, when they welcome West Bromwich Albion to Old Trafford.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side were on a poor run of form before the break but managed to ease the pressure on the boss with a 3-1 win over Everton, and United will expect a similar result against a struggling West Brom side.
Here's what Solskjaer had to say ahead of the game.
On Paul Pogba's Happiness
France manager Didier Deschamps recently suggested that Pogba 'cannot be happy' at United, after which the midfielder confessed that he was going through a tough period at club level.
“Paul had a difficult season last season and he has had COVID now,” Solskjaer said. “I think those three games he played for France helped both us and Paul. It helps France, he gets his rhythm and he gets his fitness.
“I have spoken to Paul and he certainly felt, towards the end of the Portugal game and definitely in the Sweden game, he felt stronger for it. He played well and they qualified.
“I think he is only going to improve and, as I have said, Paul is a very important player for us and a very important person for us. To have him in form and happy is going to be vital for the run that we are hopefully going to put together now.”
On Mason Greenwood's Recent Form
19-year-old Mason Greenwood has endured a tricky few months both on and off the field, but his struggles have been amplified by countless reports and rumours on social media - many of which have crossed a line and turned too personal.
"You have to take a step back sometimes, the boy’s only 19, he’s had a fantastic year. If we go a year back, I left him out of the Carabao Cup against Chelsea, Mason stayed back and played against Doncaster in the Checkatrade Trophy to get game time, that’s how far he’s come. Now he’s got 19 goals, made his England debut, scored in his first Under-21s game and of course the headlines are gonna be about when he scores and doesn’t play.
“Everyone’s allowed to not be well, if you’re not well you can’t train. He’s been away eight or nine days from training, we’re just building him up again and I have no doubts about him.
He has a very good head on him and the talent is there for all to see.
“Mason is fitter. He had eight or nine days away from us which is long time. He’s been training hard this week in the gym and on the grass. He’ll be back soon.”
On Injury News
"The short version is Luke Shaw, Jesse Lingard and Phil Jones are the only ones who didn't join in parts of the training today. They're at different stages.
"Some of them had recovery after the international on Wednesday and travelled and are working back after injury and fitness and we'll make a decision tonight but most of them have joined in today and some joined in yesterday, so looking good.
"Rashford and Lindelof? Possibles, but some of them are probably some doubts. Marcus joined in for the first time today, hopefully there's no reaction, I'm not sure. Bailly, that was his first day today, so no. Him and Marcos Rojo joined for the first time in a month, at least, so they're not ready. Victor, we'll have to check tomorrow because his back is not great."
On United's Poor Form at Old Trafford
"Home and away now is different, not like it used to be. We’ve had four home games in the league. The first one we look at having no preparation and Palace deserved it. Tottenham deserved the win after Anthony Martial's sending off, and the other two games, if we had our fans, it might have sparked that little extra X Factor we needed in two close games.
“Our best win this season was against Leipzig at home though. It’s something we want to correct and get our first win hopefully against West Brom but it’s a different sensation playing in front of the Stretford End without fans, they normally score a goal for us.
"It’s not as easy as why don’t we win at home why don’t we do so well, every game lives its own life, there are reasons behind that and, as I said, the best game we played at home this season was against RB Leipzig,
“Home and away is not the same, in Norway there are a few hundred fans and they help. Here it’s sterile. The Everton game last time out showed a Man United team as we want to see it. We scored some good team goals and I was very pleased with that last performance.”