Having been named Manchester United interim manager after the club dismissed Jose Mourinho on Tuesday, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer arrived at Carrington early on Thursday morning, where he met with the Man Utd squad.
Sir Alex Ferguson's former assistant Mike Phelan will work with Solskjaer, along with Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna, with United looking for a coach with links to the club.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is Ed Woodward’s long-term favourite to transform United – and he will feature heavily in a ‘thorough and extensive process’ to find the ideal successor to Mourinho to work alongside a Director of Football.
Woodward heralded Solskjaer's appointment as the return of a 'club legend' following his heroics in the Champions League final in 1999 in the club's infamous treble-winning season.
As reported by Standard Sport, Solskjaer faces somewhat of battle – should he want it – to the land job full-time, with Utd understood to be continuing their search for Mourinho’s long-term successor regardless of the Norwegian’s success.
Meanwhile, United will press ahead with their January transfer plans despite sacking Mourinho.
Solskjaer will be consulted, but any moves will focus on long-standing targets set out as far back as the summer with Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly a top priority.
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How the news broke
Manchester United confirmed that Jose Mourinho has been sacked following a disastrous start to the season.
The club released a statement on Tuesday morning which read: "Manchester United has announced that Jose Mourinho has left the Club.
"We would like to thank him for his work during his time at Manchester United and wish him success in the future.
“A new caretaker manager will be appointed until the end of the current season, while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new, full-time manager.”
Man Utd have lost five of their opening 17 Premier League games this season, with Sunday's 3-1 defeat at Liverpool leaving the Red Devils 19 points behind Jurgen Klopp's table-toppers.
While United have reached a Champions League last-16 tie against PSG in the new year, an 11-point league gap to fourth-placed Chelsea leaves the prospect of qualifying for next season's competition an increasingly remote possibility.
And that damaging defeat against fierce rivals Liverpool appears to have been the last straw for the Glazer family, who will appoint a caretaker manager and look for a permanent replacement in the summer.
