Chris Hatherall: Are we witnessing end of the Solskjaer see-saw era?

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: Showed admirable bravery in keeping faith Paul Pogba. Picture: Peter Powell/PA

He’s been up, he’s been down, he’s been almost on the way out, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s see-saw career as manager of Manchester United has reached a new peak, and there is growing justification to speculate there need not be a stomach-churning dip to follow this time.

We often talk about yo-yo clubs which spend their entire football existence bobbing between the Premier League and the Championship, but Solskajaer has been a yo-yo manager; one minute the Messiah, the next a pariah. Either the man who can bring back the glory, glory days — or the man whose days are numbered.

It’s been like that from the start, and the media, until now, simply could not make up their minds over whether to back him or sack him, despite the fact he must be one of the most likeable, affable and friendly figures in football.

This result, however, changes things. Knowing that a point would take them to the top of the table, above historic rivals Liverpool, United were still able — against notoriously difficult opponents — to produce a performance good enough to win through revitalised Paul Pogba’s well taken goal.

It wasn’t spectacular but let’s put this in perspective. The last time United were top of the Premier League was in September 2017, when Galway were winning their first All-Ireland hurling title since 1988 and Cork City reached the FAI Cup semi-finals on the way to lifting the trophy. So, it’s no exaggeration to suggest a 1-0 victory at Burnley is a landmark moment not just in this season but in Solskjaer’s managerial career and even in United’s painful and slow-moving recovery from Alex Ferguson’s departure.

It sets up a thrilling, mouth-watering fixture this weekend against champions Liverpool, who with the exception of a seven-goal showing at Crystal Palace, have not been themselves in recent weeks and who have found their huge lead from last season erased in the new campaign.

It also sends a new pressure Solskjaer’s way — because for the first time since he arrived at the club in 2018 he is going to be asked if Manchester United can now win the title. Just saying that out loud will make United fans shiver, and the opportunity to once again, as Fergie famously said, knock Liverpool off their perch is almost too much to comprehend.

The answer to the question, you suspect, will be straight out of the ‘one game at a time’ rule book and that’s still the correct one at this stage, it’s not the moment to get carried away. But there is a lot to be pleased with for United, whose defence looked solid as they saw out victory at Turf Moor.

There are plenty of things that Solskjaer is getting right. He has built the team around Bruno Fernandes, Maguire and Rashford and slowly pieced it together from there, designing a team with a solid base and an ability to click up front when it matters.

The old United ‘never say die’ spirit has been revived with late goals and away day comebacks, and this performance showed they have added steel on difficult days, too.

It wasn’t always pretty, but the fact that Eric Bailly now looks so comfortable alongside Maguire in defence has been an important part of United’s recent improvement and meant United were never in danger of losing their lead.

Was it an accidental partnership due to Victor Lindelof suffering an injury or did Solskjaer spot the perfect relationship in training? Take your pick, but it’s working and you’d be surprised if Lindelof returned at Anfield on Sunday even if he is fully recovered.

Solskjaer has also been brave enough to play match-winner Pogba despite the controversy caused a month ago when the Frenchman’s overly verbose agent insisted his client needed to leave Old Trafford to re-boot his career.

The decision to stick with the midfielder, who divides opinion amongst both fanbase and media, hasn’t been easy, certainly not in terms of off-field scrutiny, but it’s proved to be a good one, with Pogba’s performances improving by the week.

He grew into the game at Turf Moor and drove his side forward in the second half before firing home an excellent goal in a move he began himself by winning a header in the centre circle.

A win at Burnley is never easy and often not remembered for long. This one is different, however, because it could be a major moment in the Ole Gunnar story — especially if it is repeated at Anfield.

More importantly, however, is the feeling that even defeat on Sunday need not lead to another dip and if this is the last day of the Solskjaer see-saw era then United are making significant progress.