Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants trophies for Manchester United but won’t compromise on youth ‘DNA’

Man United are in the bottom half but the manager is targetting success

Manchester United have made their worst start to a season in over three decades and, although manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer notes the transition has been “difficult,” says the club want to win trophies in their own particular way.

A trip to Norwich City at the weekend gives United the chance to potentially return to the top half of the table, after collecting just 10 points from their first nine games.

Relative summer transfer inactivity and injuries to key players have hampered Solskjaer’s attempts to build a strong foundation for the season, but he remains adamant that the club is taking the right approach.

Part of that approach is giving opportunities to youngsters in the squad who have yet to find the consistency required at the highest level, something the manager says will continue.

“You have to be brave. You have to trust your players and trust the kids,” he told Sky Sports News.

“We need results as soon as possible. We need a result against Norwich. But then again we are in the situation we are.

“We made the decision to start the transition and that transition period has been difficult but I think the young kids are going to learn from it.

“You want to win, you want to win trophies and win in a certain style. But you also want to do it with young kids.

“That’s the DNA we have. We do give young players a chance and you won’t really know about them until you throw them into deep water and see if they can swim. Those boys so far have done really well.”

While United are looking for improvements and to the future, in the immediate term they face a Norwich team who have already impressed against big teams this season, despite being in the relegation zone.

Solskjaer is clear that his team will need to be at their best if United are to avoid a similar result to that suffered by rivals Man City.

Wan-Bissaka is back after a recent absence (AFP via Getty Images)

“I hope we are going to stop them because it’s always going to be difficult down at Carrow Road.

“When I watched their first game [in the Premier League] against Liverpool, I saw a team with lots of courage. They were brave, they played their own way and kept going.

“That has given them some great results – they beat Newcastle, they beat Manchester City – and they’re a team with a clear philosophy

“We are ready for it now, we’ve been to Belgrade and got some players back. I managed to take Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Anthony Martial off after 60 minutes because they’ve been out for a long time.

“So hopefully we’ll have a fresh team because we’ll need to be at our best to have a chance.”

United are searching for a first Premier League win in five, though a draw at home to league leaders Liverpool last time out should boost confidence.