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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has urged his Manchester United players to treat the title talks as they would any other “noise” surrounding the club.
United have received a lot of criticism this season, particularly after their exit from the Champions League earlier this month and for their indifferent form at home.
However, overall results have been positive and they are heading into Christmas in good spirits, five points behind leaders Liverpool with a match in hand.
Last weekend’s 6-2 win over Leeds sparked suggestions that they could still mount an unexpected title push, while Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat to Everton in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals further boosted plus your trophy prospects.
“Well, whatever,” Solskjaer said when asked about the title. “Anyway, there is noise around Man Utd, so for us it’s about improving as a team, taking one game at a time, and we have to, that’s the name of the game.
“That’s the only way you’re going to challenge for anything at the end of the season anyway, so it’s not something we talk about.
“The only thing that we talk about and what we focus on is improving day by day and learning, and how to deal with certain situations and maybe right now we are getting praise and that is something else to learn to deal with.”
United’s strong suit this season has been their away form, having won all six Premier League games away from home, although they have had to come back each time.
Their next trip is tough as they face second-placed Leicester at King Power Stadium on St Stephen’s Day and Solskjaer recognizes the importance of not conceding an early goal.
“It will catch up with you if you give the teams an advantage, and Leicester is one of those teams that you definitely don’t want to give a one or two goal advantage to because they have a lot of players in the transition.” you can easily concede two or three or four, so we have to start as well as we did (against Everton), ”he said.
“We started very well, against Leeds and of course the first goal in any game is very important.”
United won 2-0 at King Power Stadium in the final of the day last season in what was effectively a play-off for a place in the Champions League.
Solskjaer said: “We have had some very good games against Leicester, very tight games. They are a very good team with a very good coach and I have enjoyed watching them with Brendan (Rodgers).
“It was a great test for us to go to their stadium in the summer and we got through it with great success. We played a controlled game, but I know that now it will not be the same because it is a different moment of the season and they have some threats that you should look for” .
Confidence is high, however, and Wednesday’s success at Goodison Park, secured with late goals from Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial, improved the wellness factor.
“Every time you win a match, you gain energy and increase your morale and your faith,” said Solskjaer, whose team will host rivals Manchester City in the semi-finals on 6 January. “The results engender good spirit and humor and engender confidence.”
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