Doesn't it feel strange to see a Manchester United manager smile? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hardly wiped the smirk off his face since he returned to Old Trafford, and his enthusiasm has started to rub off on the team. They look a completely different side to the one that laboured through the last few months of the season, with a weight seemingly lifted off their shoulders.
Solskjaer's demeanour could hardly differ further to that of his predecessor, with Jose Mourinho cutting a dower and frustrated figure during his final months in charge.
The recently departed manager seemed to blame every part of the club for their failings, that is, apart from himself. He made it sound like the team's performance's were completely beyond his control, blaming everything from injuries, to lack of transfers, to attitude problems. It irked everyone at Manchester United, from the players to the fans.
That is why a Solskjaer response to a question in the build-up to the Newcastle game will have brought a smile to their faces.
A journalist asked the interim boss about potentially having only two centre backs at his disposal for the game, something that Mourinho would no doubt have had plenty to say about in weeks gone by. Solskjaer had a very different response however, replying:
That's enough isn't it? It should be enough with two!
You can watch his reply 50 seconds into the video below.
While this is only a small thing, it is indents like this that show the difference between Solskjaer and what we saw in the final few months of the Mourinho era. He did not say his players were not good enough, he did not blame the board, he simply got on with it, and with a smile on his face as well.
You might think this is the very basics of football management, but it is something that was sorely lacking under Jose Mourinho.
