Solskjaer, Rashford Scoop Premier League January Awards

By Joshua Walters

Manchester United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and player Marcus Rashford have won the Premier League Manager and Player for the month of January respectively.

Solskjaer’s award marks the first for the Old Trafford club after the side's former long-term manager Sir Alex Ferguson while Rashford's follows Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s of  December 2016.

The manager, who is on loan at Manchester United from Norwegian club Molde, has rejuvenated Manchester United since taking over the mantle from Jose Mourinho in December 2018.

Solskjaer has led the team to nine wins out of his first 10 games in all competitions, with the Red Devils grabbing 10 points out of 12 in January.

Solskjaer beat competition from Burnley manager Sean Dyche and Southampton’s Ralph Hesenhuttl to win the award for Manchester United for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson won it in his final season in October 2012.

"We want to be winning games, we want to move up the table and this is the start of it,” Solskjaer said.

Solskjaer took over a club saddled with poor results and player-manager rows, and the stability he has brought to the team has made him the first pick for the permanent job by the bookmakers.

The 1999 treble winner with Manchester United was quick to thank the likes of first-team coach Phelan after United's upturn was acknowledged in a vote decided for by a panel of football experts and the public.

"The more you know the culture of the club, the culture of the players and the way that we have been successful, that has helped me," the Norwegian said.

"I've got some fantastic coaches, I have to say, Kieran (McKenna), Michael (Carrick), they're brilliant.

"Emilio Alvarez's working with the best goalkeeper in the world and to bring Micky in with me is very reassuring because he's so calm and experienced.

"You cannot be a good leader or a manager without good players, you can't get results without the players, so ultimately it's how they respond to what we tell them and they've been fantastic, so all credit to them."

Rashford, 21, scored three goals in four league matches last month, winning the award for the club for the first time since Zlatan Ibrahimovic in December 2016.