Solskjaer says reports of Alex Ferguson’s influence at Manchester United ‘unfair’

The legendary Manchester United manager has been reported to be in constant communication with Solskjaer since he came to Old Trafford

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has denied that he is getting regular pointers on managing Manchester United from his former boss, Sir Alex Ferguson. After a club record seven wins from his first seven games in charge, the former striker has earned plaudits from all over, leading to claims that he is in "daily contact" with the Scotsman. However, the current Manchester boss rebuked these reports on Monday. “We don’t speak weekly,” said Solskjaer. “I haven’t spoken to him many times." Instead, Ferguson has been making more casual visits to the club he said, including to check in on his former striker Giuseppe Rossi, who is training in Manchester as part of his latest bid to return to fitness. "He has been in to visit us just once, he has been in to see Rossi once," added Solskjaer. "The influence is more my 15 years under him. He is 77, it is not fair to him either is it?” Much has been made of the similarities between the Scot and Norwegian, with the pair said to be in regular communication following Ferguson's return to his club consultancy role in late December after having time off due to brain surgery. In eleven years at United as a player, Solskjaer only ever worked under Ferguson and lifted six Premier League titles alongside two FA Cups and a Champions League. And the 77-year-old's influence on the current boss hasn't been lost on the players who have worked under both men, Paul Pogba noting ahead of the weekend win over Brighton that a familiar atmosphere has returned to the club. "It’s like home for [Solskjaer]," Pogba told Football Focus. "He knows he didn’t really change, he came back to the time of Ferguson, I would say. The training, the way we use the box, it’s everything like before."