OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER warned Wayne Rooney that any goal he scores against Manchester United will come off of his club-record tally.
And the Old Trafford boss reckons his old team-mate is on a mission to prove “there’s still fight in the old dog”.
Despite his tongue-in-cheek comments, Solskjaer believes the Derby player coach — who rattled in 253 goals for the Red Devils — still possesses a real danger to his team’s silverware hopes this season.
Solskjaer said: “He’s a threat in and around the box and from set plays. Wayne will show what he can do and he wants to prove there is still fight in the old dog.
“We’ve got to be on our toes and not give him any space in midfield because he’s got that Paul Scholes-like passing range.”
Rooney left United having scored four more goals than fellow club icon Sir Bobby Charlton.
Now he faces his old club in a Rams shirt in the FA Cup fifth round at Pride Park tonight.
But Solskjaer joked: “He gave absolutely everything for this club. But any goal he scores against us will be chalked off his goals tally!”
He believes Rooney’s place in the pantheon of United greats will always be appreciated by former team-mates and fans alike.
He said: “Wayne’s been a fantastic player for Manchester United. He played here for so long, he’s the club’s top scorer, won so many trophies.
“I don’t think the fans under-rated him, everyone appreciates what he did for us.
“He’s still welcome. He still comes to Old Trafford and will get a good reception from our away fans.”
Solskjaer said Rooney’s influence on and off the pitch was so great that he became his son Noah’s favourite player.
He said: “He makes you feel good if you’re 80 years old or ten years old — he was my Noah’s favourite player, not just because of what he did as a player but the person he was in and around the place.
“When he becomes a manager he’ll affect his players and he knows the game. He wants to stay in the game and he’s a great person.”
Solskjaer was diplomatic when asked if Rooney could one day be boss at Old Trafford now that he has made his first step into coaching with Derby.
Solskjaer smiled: “Yeah, well, it depends on how much you put into the job and how much you want it.
“It takes over your life but it’s the second best after playing. I am sure there are many ex-players and managers who want my job.”
Solskjaer is starting to see the fruits of his labours as United boss almost a year after being given the job permanently.
He will keep pushing to get the club back to the top and is not afraid to cast players off if they don’t have the same drive.
He said: “I’ve got to make decisions and one day, well, you give them one warning and that’s it probably.
“And then the next thing maybe they are not here any more — you don’t have to explain every time then.”
It is a steely side of boss Solskjaer that has already resulted in Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez being shown the door.
Paul Pogba will be next this summer if United can get the right money for the midfielder.
Solskjaer is looking to create a mentality at the club where winning is everything and the frills and rewards that come with that are secondary.
He said: “Football has changed and some players get affected by ‘I’ve made money, I’ve made this, I’ve won a trophy, I can sit back and relax’.
“I had the best of the lot as a player. If you win something you move on.
“The squad I was in with Roy Keane, Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Scholesy, you won something but you moved on.
“You want to be better. You want to win the training session the next day or playing cards.
“That group of Treble-winners we had in 1999, their personality and the drive and the hunger in them was unbelievable.
“I didn’t have that when I came to Manchester United. I was happy smiley, I was always trying to be the best I could be but when I came here and started to win things I realised it was not what football’s all about.
“It was not just trying to better yourself, it’s challenging yourself all the time and being hungry and going for it.”
And that hunger has still not left Wayne Rooney — as United will be all too aware of tonight.
