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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's sense of timing as a manager would appear
to be as impeccable as it was as a player.
In the week that Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates 25 years in charge
of Manchester United, his former striker provided compelling
evidence of his own managerial pedigree by steering Molde to a
first Norwegian title in their 100-year history.
Solskjaer, whose legendary status at United was assured with the
winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final to clinch the
Treble, one of 126 plundered in 366 appearances, has long been
tipped by Ferguson to make a successful transition from player to
manager.
For a man who spent much of his United career as a substitute
and forged his reputation as an impact player, the dugout would
appear to be Solskjaer's natural habitat, Ferguson having remarked
in the past how Solskjaer's astute reading of the game from the
bench set him apart from other players.
While some subs might brood on the bench at the perceived
injustice of failing to make the starting line-up, Solskjaer used
his time there to analyse the subtle nuances of a game, ensuring he
knew how to make the maximum impact if and when he was introduced
to the action.
When a persistent knee injury forced Solskjaer to retire in
2007, Ferguson had no hesitation in handing the forward a job on
his staff, using his expertise to help coach United's strikers for
the remainder of the 2007-08 season.
And when the job of United reserve team coach became available
in May 2008, Ferguson handed it to Solskjaer, who made an instant
impact, leading them to victory in the Lancashire Senior Cup and
Manchester Senior Cup that season.
That success saw Solskjaer offered the job of coaching Norway
but, then 37, he considered himself too young and inexperienced to
take on the role at such an early stage of his managerial career,
instead choosing to take the next stage of his development in
charge of Molde, where he spent two years as a player before
joining United in 1996.
Solskjaer's success at Molde has raised the inevitable question
of him one day managing United, given the ease with which he has
adapted to the role of coach, and the 38-year-old will certainly
not be short of offers from other clubs following his championship
success with Molde.
Yet Solskjaer is an astute man, devoid of ego, and knows he must
prove himself over a period of time, and at a higher level, if he
is ever to be considered for the United job, although his immediate
success with Molde suggests a long and fruitful managerial
career.
And with Ferguson showing no signs of slowing down, despite
turning 70 next month, the United board are in no rush to begin the
unenviable task of finding a successor to the most successful
British manager of all-time, putting off the inevitable as long as
they can.
Talking to former United chief executive and chairman Martin
Edwards this week, the man who appointed Ferguson and who -
crucially - resisted calls to sack him in 1990, his view was that
the Scot's successor had to be a manager with experience and
success at the highest level, given the size and scale of the
job.
If United follow that blueprint when it comes to appointing
Ferguson's successor, then the short-list will include the likes of
Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola, while Everton boss David Moyes,
consistently championed by Fergie, is also likely to come into the
frame.
But Solskjaer has served notice of his potential to one day
manage United and continue the attacking philosophy and success
laid down by his mentor Ferguson.