OLE Gunnar Solskjaer is confident the wave of optimism at Manchester United will carry them into the Champions League knockout phase this week.

FRANK LAMPARD insists Chelsea have learned to live with playing second fiddle to Manchester United as they look to overhaul the leaders in the Premiership title run-in.

THIERRY HENRY knows a thing or two about what it takes to earn the respect of your fellow pros to be crowned PFA Player of the Year — and reckons Paul Scholes has the game to top everyone this season.

FORGET the swashbuckling stuff, Ryan Giggs knows it is points that will mean prizes for Manchester United this season.

WEST HAM manager Alan Curbishley has demanded an immediate improvement from Carlos Tevez ahead of tonight’s vital Premiership clash with Chelsea.

Liverpool Youth 1 Manchester United Youth 2

The Examiner’s football correspondent Liam Mackey likes a good argument when he hears it, and he’s got strong views of his own.

MAN CITY boss Stuart Pearce has claimed the one-sided nature of the Premiership will only get worse as the years roll by.

AN election campaign without a whiff of scandal is unimaginable and, true to form, controversy has broken over the head of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, leader of the country’s biggest political party.

MICHAEL TONGE is hoping Sheffield United boss Neil Warnock gives him the nod for what he concedes will be “a special occasion” tomorrow night.

LIVERPOOL manager Rafael Benitez would love to produce a “team of Carraghers” from his youth set-up.

IT might seem strange to say that there was a missed opportunity at Old Trafford on Tuesday, but indeed there was one — and it was glaring.

AS if Roy Keane weren’t famous enough in Cork, the place of his birth is hosting another play about the footballer.

PORTUGAL international Cristiano Ronaldo insists Manchester United is the “right” club for him.

THE BBC TV series Life on Mars ended during the week.

UEFA and the Greek FA have played down concerns that next month’s Champions League final could witness a repeat of the violence which has marred recent European matches involving English clubs.

EDWIN VAN DER SAR would love the chance to have a crack at Chelsea three times in the space of a fortnight.

THEY may lie marooned at the bottom of Pool Four, without so much as a point to their name, but the Bourgoin threat should not be underestimated on Sunday, according to former Munster captain Mick Galwey.

OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER is in no doubt that in Henrik Larsson Manchester United have signed the finest Scandinavian footballer of his generation.

CRISIS CLUB Real Madrid are set to cut their losses during the transfer window and ditch their two remaining Galacticos, Ronaldo and David Beckham, according to Spanish newspaper AS.