Solskjaer Exclusive: Back To Molde

In the concluding part of his farewell interview, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer outlines his plans for the future of Molde...

When were you first approached by Molde and how did you arrive at the decision to take the job?
I spoke to them through the year. During their season they struggled, so when they sacked the manager in the summer I didn’t want to do it and they had to get a caretaker. I met them in October and I didn’t say yes, I said no but I felt like it was right for me and my family. After that meeting I went home and discussed it with the family, and it turned out it was a more realistic possibility than we thought. It’s really important for me and Silje that we give our kids that chance to grow up as Norwegians as well. I’d spoken to loads of clubs – the manager says that you should always go and do the interviews because you never know; something might come out of it. He’s got friends who’ve had hundreds of job interviews but are still in the same job. I’ve spoken to a few clubs and this was the right thing, to be moving back home.

Was that quite a big conversation to have with Sir Alex?
It wasn’t very big because when I spoke to him and said that we were really missing home and that the timing was right for us – because we’ve had 14 and a half years here now – he thought the first step into management, in Norway, would be a good move.

How hectic was the day you signed for Molde?
I was looking forward to it in one way, to just go home and get it over with. I don’t really enjoy sitting and speaking to the press for two and a half hours, but it went well. It was important for me, Richard (Hartis) and Mark (Dempsey) to come across and speak to the Norwegian press, and for me to present them because I’m delighted I’ve got them with me. Dempsey has been in Norway for two years already. He was an under-16s coach and he’s fantastic, a teaching coach and I know the Norwegian players will love his approach to training. I’ve worked with Richard for three years as a coach and I just asked him if he’d be interested because we’ve got a good working relationship. I think his methods are very good and he’ll bring something to the keepers and the back four in relation to the keeper. I asked the Gaffer if it was ok for him to come across and he agreed to it.

After the press conference, you went to meet Molde fans at the pub…
We went to see some supporters and just wanted to kickstart it a little bit. It’s important, the enthusiasm of the fans and the whole day was good because you could see we’ve sparked a little hope there and it’s important that we build on that.

Molde is its own club with its own history, but will you be trying to apply the United ethos over there?
Definitely. For me that's how a club should be built and run on an everyday basis. It’s how I’ll run my club. This is the template of the perfect club. That’s why I’ve brought Mark Dempsey and Richard Hartis with me: the three of us are very strongly linked with United. United have signed three players from Molde – Mame (Diouf), me and Magnus (Eikrem) – and it’s a big compliment for our club, but I still think I can take it forward. Hopefully we’ll play in the Champions League together. You never know!

You’d be up against Sir Alex – how big an influence has he been on you?
The Gaffer has been absolutely unbelievable. For 14 and a half years I’ve been here and he’s made me what I am. You learn from him. I came as a young Norwegian and you just look at him and learn to be professional and how to conduct yourself.

He’s approaching a quarter of a century at United – how does he keep going?
He’s enjoying it, that’s the thing. He enjoys coming in and working here. He’s got good staff around him, he’s keeping young staff around him and he’s as enthusiastic as ever, he’s got more energy than ever and, of course, he has to win. He needs to win games. He has to have games like Monday and come back with the buzz of beating Arsenal. It’s just in him. You can see another team developing here and I’m sure he sees a great team developing.

Is your immediate plan to emulate Sir Alex with Molde and transform the club into a dominant force in Norway?
When you go into a job you hope you’ll leave one day - two years, five years, a decade down the line - and leave a legacy; knowing that you’ve started something and you’ve made new history. It’s Molde’s 100 year anniversary next year. They’ve won the cup twice and never won the league. Of course my aim is to win the league in years to come, but that’s a process, so for me now it’s starting at the bottom: the structure of the club, get kids coming through because it’s important that local kids know they’ll get a chance, I’m taking loads with me. If you want to build a club, you’ve got to look at who has been successful, and the manager has been the most successful one. It’s impossible to say that 10 or 15 years down the line where I’ll manage. If you do well, something will happen to you. I’ve said exactly the same as anyone else who has played here and wants to go into management; if you do well enough and you get the chance to manage United, yes of course you’d take it.

Rosenborg have won 17 of the last 21 Norwegian titles; are they the club you’re aiming to overhaul?
They’re the benchmark. They’ve got a great culture for sustained success. They think long term, the culture of the club has been very good. They have professional players who know they must sacrifice things for football, and of course the financial security they’ve got from the Champions League has brought them on as well. My aim is to get closer and closer, and in the end go past them.