United ‘set to make charge’
Twelve points adrift of the Gunners with just eight games remaining, even Solskjaer admits United have no chance of retaining the Barclaycard Premiership title.
However, the Norwegian striker, who battled heroically up front on his own at Villa Park in the absence of 26-goal Ruud van Nistelrooy, thinks the Red Devils can embark on a sustained winning run that will silence the critics who have been so willing to announce the end of an era at Old Trafford.
“You can’t just pick confidence out of a refrigerator,” said the 30-year-old, who has been restricted to just seven starts this season after battling back from knee surgery.
“Beating Arsenal on Saturday means we still have a chance of winning a trophy but it has also restored our self-belief.
“We are too far behind in the league to do anything about it now but we have our pride and we can do much better than we have been.”
It will not have gone unnoticed by Sir Alex Ferguson that his side’s resurgence has coincided with Solskjaer’s return from an injury that some reports suggested might keep him out for the entire campaign.
Thankfully, that speculation proved unfounded and although still slightly short of match fitness, the man who won the European Cup for United five years ago with that momentous injury-time winner against Bayern Munich is happy just to be involved.
“All I want to do is contribute to the team, whether it’s for 15 minutes or 90,” he said.
“It was hard up front on my own at times on Saturday, but against a side like Arsenal you expect that.
“You just try to do your job, make runs and either hope the ball comes to you or a defender follows you which makes space for others to run into.”
As a veteran of United’s last FA Cup final appearance against Newcastle in 1999, Solskjaer knows how important the competition has been to United down the years.
And even though Ferguson and his side were condemned for spurning the chance to defend the trophy they won against the Magpies in favour of a trip to Brazil for the World Club Championship, Solskjaer insists the competition still generates plenty of fervour in the Old Trafford dressing room.
“Anyone who thinks we don’t care about the FA Cup should have been with us after the game on Saturday,” he said.
“It is a special competition and has been to me ever since I was a kid in Norway. At that time, it was always the last game of the season and we always used to watch it.
“It’s five years since we had a chance to play in the final and every single one of us will be determined to make the team.”
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