Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Says Manchester United Tenure Has 'Been a Rollercoaster'

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted his first five months in charge of Manchester United have "been a rollercoaster," and he added the job is "not like Football Manager."

The Norwegian was appointed on an interim basis on December 19 after Jose Mourinho was sacked, but he was handed the job permanently on a three-year contract in March after a dream start.

In all competitions, United won 14 of Solskjaer's first 17 games in charge, suffering just one defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League last 16 which they eventually overturned in the return leg at the Parc des Princes.

As well as returning to winning ways, United also started to play a more exciting brand of football than under Mourinho, and players such as Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial flourished.

However, the Red Devils have won just two of their last 11 games, neither convincingly, and fell out of the race for the Premier League's top four by drawing 1-1 with already-relegated Huddersfield Town on Sunday:

The end of the season can't come soon enough, and United's poor campaign has been thrown into sharper focus in the last week as Manchester City took a step closer to the Premier League title, while Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Arsenal all booked spots in European finals:

However, Solskjaer is enjoying being in the manager's role, per MUTV (h/t Goal):

"It's been a rollercoaster. We had a fantastic start, everyone just enjoyed themselves. When you win games, you're confident, you smile, you start to enjoy yourself. Then we got a few injuries and it's been ups and downs the last few months but that's football, that's human beings. 

"It's not like Football Manager, you've got to deal with different stuff outside football. There have been highs and lows but I've enjoyed it, it's a great challenge. I've not gone to bed one night worrying about what's going to happen because I love coming in, the boys are fantastic."

United's final game of the season on Sunday is against Cardiff City, who joined Huddersfield and Fulham in being relegated last weekend.

It is a game of little consequence, but Solskjaer will likely be desperate for his side to finish the season with a win in front of the Old Trafford fans.

Then he must move on to the business of rebuilding a squad that has shown few signs in recent seasons of ever being title challengers again.

United's recruitment policy has lacked any real coherence in recent windows, but Solskjaer explained how he plans to approach the task, per MUTV (h/t Goal):

"It's a great challenge [to oversee the rebuild] but it's a great responsibility as well, because this club is huge. The media and everyone's criticising us as soon as they've got a chance. We've just got to stick together. We've been through difficult periods before but we've got to come through it as a team. We've got to do it together. We've got to recruit smart, keep blooding the youngsters and we'll be fine."