Southampton v United | Solskjaer exclusive interview

By the time the match kicks off at St Mary’s at 14:00 GMT, almost five days will have elapsed since the Champions League win over Istanbul Basaksehir – a significant amount of time between games, especially in this most congested of campaigns.

In an interview with club media, the boss elaborated on why the Reds need to be on our game against the ever-improving Saints, and also spoke about the late, great Diego Maradona…

Hi Ole, thanks, as ever, for joining us. Before we get into the game against Southampton, can we get your thoughts on the passing of a true football icon in Diego Maradona?

“It was a sad day, when you wake up to that news. I’ve always been a big fan of Diego and I think that he’s the best player I’ve ever seen live. I’ve not seen Pele, of course, and Georgie Best, but I had the pleasure of seeing Diego play against Norway in 1986 – the last game before [Argentina] went to the World Cup. For me, just following his career and how he dealt with the ups and downs, I can understand how people in Argentina now have three days of sorrow because he was such an icon and, for me, he’s the best player that I’ve seen. I had the pleasure of meeting him in the directors’ box as well at Old Trafford, when I was the manager of Cardiff. I came up to see the game against Liverpool in 2014 and, at half-time, I had the pleasure of taking a picture with him, so that’s something I treasure.”