Juan Mata believes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has Manchester United in his DNA, claiming the Norwegian's positivity made an immediate impact when he returned as manager.
Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho as United manager in December 2018, with a phenomenal 13-game winning streak sealing his promotion from an interim position to permanent one.
The United legend - who famously scored the last-gasp winner in the 1999 Champions League final - has since endured mixed results with the club, although the Red Devils were seemingly clicking into gear prior to the Premier League's suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic.
English football is now suspended until April 30 at the earliest, while a meeting is to take place on April 3 to discuss the next steps with United sitting fifth in the table, just three points off Chelsea in fourth.
Speaking about Solskjaer's arriving in December 2019, Mata says the players were made aware of his imminent appointment - and the players were instantly impressed.
Speaking to United's official website, Mata said: “Of course, I heard much about him as a player. About that goal, about the many goals.
"So we had a meeting between us, the team, and they said: 'Listen, it's probable that Ole's going to come. He's going to take care of the team until the end of the season. He's coming from Molde in Norway.'
“As soon as he came in, you could see the positivity. You could see the Man United DNA.
"He knew everyone, he felt like a proper United fan, and he was happy and smiley and full of energy. Until today. So we stay with him, and I think that's a good sign of things going okay."
Now 31, Mata still feels fresh but feels his wealth of experience is an asset valued by his manager.
He added: “I feel young, honestly, in my body and in my mind, but obviously I've been playing in the club, and in English football and professionally for 12-13 years now, and so that gives me experience to – especially in difficult situations – behave in a certain way or give advice to the youngsters or something like that, and I think he values that also."
