Ole Accepts Norwegian Post

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will return to Norway to take up the managerial post at one of his old clubs, Molde FK.

Speculation about the former striker's future has been rife over the past week. Sir Alex said on Tuesday: "Ole's accepted the position in Molde and he leaves with our best wishes. He's been a fantastic servant, and he's contributed to the development of our young players.

"I think that his career as an outstanding professional footballer gave him a foundation to get into coaching. He's had a great introduction with our reserves and this is the right time for Ole to take up his first managerial position. Ole will do well at Molde FK and we wish him all the best for the future."

Ole is quoted on Molde FK's official website: "This is a dream job. I discussed my future career with Sir Alex Ferguson and he advised me to choose a club where there are people that you would like to work with. The choice was therefore easy. After 14 years in Manchester, I look forward to coming home to Molde."

Solskjaer, who scored 126 goals during his 11 seasons as a player at Old Trafford, was forced to retire in 2007 after a long struggle with a knee injury. He then moved into a coaching role, initially working with the club's strikers before taking the reigns of the reserve team (with assistance from Warren Joyce) in summer 2008.

In that role, Solskjaer has won the Premier Reserves League North title, the Premier Reserves League play-off and both the Lancashire and Manchester Senior Cups.

Now, though, he is eyeing success at first-team level, at the club where he spent two years as a player before joining United.

"He feels it's time to go back to Norway," Sir Alex said. "It's a good start for him and I'm sure he'll do well."

Solskjaer will remain as the Reds' reserve-team manager until taking up his new post at Molde in January. He'll be joined at the Norwegian club by two former colleagues from Carrington - Mark Dempsey will be his first-team coach, while Richard Hartis will coach the goalkeepers.