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Over the next 30 minutes, Solskjaer, who is 2,000 miles from his spiritual home in Manchester and 1,700 from his actual home in Norway, reflects on the lack of contact with former United colleagues, reveals his shock at the sale of Scott McTominay and worry over what's happening to his "family" at Old Trafford.

But events at Old Trafford are never far from his mind.

But a terrible run of results, including a record 5-0 home defeat by Liverpool and 2-0 loss to Manchester City at Old Trafford where the scoreline massively flattered United, meant Solskjaer knew what was coming as the Watford debacle unfolded.

For Bilbao to go to Old Trafford next week and score at least four goals seems a tall task and instead an all-English Europa League final between United and Tottenham is looking very like, after Spurs beat Bodo/Glimt 3-1 in their semi-final first leg.

The former Sporting boss has endured an uneasy start to life at Old Trafford since his appointment, particularly domestically where he has overseen just six wins in 23 Premier League games.