Manchester United interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is ready to face abuse from the Class of 92 - insisting he will not be spared the criticism of Gary Neville and Paul Scholes.
Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal were subjected to withering attacks from Man Utd’s legends. And the influence of Old Trafford’s icons - particularly Sir Alex Ferguson’s famed 1999 Treble winners - has increasingly become a problem for United managers.
Ed Woodward’s decision to name Solskjaer interim manager has been viewed in some quarters as a savvy move, given his popularity among former teammates and fans.
The Norwegian is likely to spared the type acerbic criticism received by Mourinho in his final months in the job.
But Solksjaer is ready and waiting for the likes of Neville and Scholes to shoot from the hip, regardless of his past relationship with them.
“Don’t worry, Gary will be really hard on me,” he said after his United reign got off to a flying start with a 5-1 win against Cardiff. “I sat next to him in the dressing room for 11 years. He was next to me and you know Gary.
“He's paid now to give his opinion and of course he should do. I'm no different to anyone else.
“I'm no different to any other manager when you lead that team out onto the pitch. It comes with a responsibility but my job is to get the players enjoying themselves.”
Wayne Rooney was one of the first to offer advice to Solskjaer upon his appointment on Wednesday.
“The lads, my ex-team-mates, I've had texts from all of them wishing me all the best,” he added.
“They've given good advice, sound advice all of them.
“He'll probably criticise me as well, don't worry about that.”
There’s one man Solskjaer will definitely heed the advice of - Ferguson.
“I've spoken to him, hopefully I'll go to his or he'll come to me and we'll have a talk,” he said. “You know he's the boss. If there's anyone who can give me proper advice, not my team-mates, that's him.”
