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The surprise origins of Man Utd's 'Ole's at the wheel' chant


Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s appointment as Manchester United manager last season brought a new wave of optimism to Red Devils’ fans.

Former United striker Solskjaer initially took over at Old Trafford as caretaker boss in December following the sacking of Jose Mourinho, with the club 11 points outside the top four.

His arrival brought a fine run of form, with the Manchester club winning their first eight matches in all competitions under the Norwegian.

The 46-year-old’s strong start to life as United boss saw the club improve their chances of finishing in the Champions League places and resulted in his full-time appointment in March.

Although the club ended the season in sixth, Solskjaer’s early success restored hope among many fans and brought the introduction of the chant “Ole’s at the wheel”.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been a big hit with fans

The song could be regularly heard from stands at home matches during the season, and fans will be hoping to sing it for years to come.

Although the chant has become a popular choice from the Man United songbook and is now synonymous with their current boss, it was originally introduced during Mourinho’s time at the club and featured his name instead of Solskjaer’s.

According to Goal , it was first introduced earlier in the campaign, following the Red Devils’ 2-1 win at Juventus during the Group Stages of the Champions League.

After seeing their team secure victory in Turin with a Juan Mata free kick and a Leonardo Bonucci own-goal, supporters outside the Allianz Stadium could be heard chanting “Jose’s at the wheel” .

That victory was soon followed by a number of disappointing results for United which ultimately led to Mourinho losing his job in December on the back of a 3-1 defeat by Liverpool .

The chant was first heard during Jose Mourinho’s time at the club

While the chant never really caught on during the Portuguese manager’s time at Old Trafford, it was soon revived after Solskjaer’s return brought an improvement in results.

Despite seeing United’s form dip late in the season – causing the club to miss out on next season’s Champions League – Solskjaer will be hoping to build on the positives from his first few months in charge during the upcoming campaign.

The Norwegian is currently in the process of bringing new faces to Old Trafford and recently confirmed Daniel James as his first signing in a £15 million deal from Swansea.

James is expected to be the first of a number of summer arrivals, while the club are also said to be interested in signing Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff .

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