Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes his Manchester United side need to get off to the best possible start when the Premier League returns in order to achieve success.
It may seem like an obvious point to make, but United have started slowly in each of the Norwegian's two full seasons in charge. In 2019/20 they only won three of their first ten league games, while last season saw them win just twice in the first six games, a run that included the 6-1 home defeat to Tottenham.
United recovered well from that setback to go on a 13-game unbeaten run in the league as well as setting a new record for away games without defeat.
And yet Solskjaer's charges went another season without silverware despite some of the excellent form they displayed during 2020/21.
Another slow start to a campaign could be the difference between winning or losing the title - and the United manager is well aware of that fact.
“Every season we hope to challenge to win in every competition we go into,” Solskjaer told MUTV in the wake of his team's 4-2 pre-season defeat to QPR at Loftus Road.
“To get to a position where you're able to challenge for the trophies, you need to start the season well. That's the focus now.
“We need to get a good start in the first game, and the first block of games, because last season we started really poorly. Then the team will gradually find out where we are, but we're hoping to go into next April and May and challenge for big things.”
United will continue their preparations for the coming season with a pre-season friendly against Premier League newcomers Brentford on Wednesday before facing Preston North End and Everton on 31 July and 7 August respectively.
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