Ole Gunnar Solskjaer pursuing perfection with Man Utd after admitting Burnley draw still stings

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s heads into the biggest test of his managerial career admitting he’s still kicking himself over dropped points against Burnley.

Manchester United’s interim manager has sparked a spectacular resurgence at Old Trafford since succeeding Jose Mourinho in December.

He has led United into the top four with 10 wins from 11 games and remains unbeaten in the job.

He knows victory against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League could prove decisive in his bid to be appointed permanent manager ahead of Mauricio Pochettino. But it was a measure of his drive for perfection that a 2-2 draw against Burnley last month is still eating him up.

United pulled off a remarkable comeback against Sean Dyche’s side – scoring twice in the last three minutes to salvage a point and preserve his unbeaten run.

But as he prepares his team for the visit of one of the Champions League favourites in PSG, the one blot on his copybook still stings.

“When you get here you expect to win every game of football with the club, the size, the supporters we have,” he said. “You know you’re not going to win every single game, but the players are still disappointed with the two points we dropped and so am I.

“I think the squad is very capable of winning against any opponent. When we go into games we are confident. In the form we are in, we are confident, but you can’t look too far ahead.

“We just need to make sure we go through this one (against PSG) and take each challenge as it comes. But I’ve said to the boys if we keep working every single day in training, concentrate, we can improve and maybe surprise a few people.”

United’s chances against the French champions have been boosted by the absence of Neymar and Edinson Cavani through injury.

But Solskjaer claims the unpredictability of Thomas Tuchel’s side poses a different threat.

“Any team that have a missing player like Neymar, Cavani and (Thomas) Meunier will feel the effect, but that’ll give the other players a chance,” he said.

“It makes it more unpredictable for us because when you see that front three of the whole season you know what to expect. We’re guessing a little bit, but we have a good guess on how to approach this game.”

Solskjaer went on a scouting mission to watch PSG lose to Lyon recently.

He added: “I think it’s difficult to compare games because when they play the league they know they’re going to win and approach games differently.

“But it’s nice to see players live. You get an impression on TV, but when you see it live you see different spaces, different principles, patterns and you see how lightning quick (Kylian) Mbappe is.

“I played against them with Molde in 1995 in the Cup Winners’ Cup, so the difference in challenge is fantastic.

“They’ve got some of the world’s best players, one of the biggest goalkeeping legends in the world in (Gianluigi) Buffon. Thiago Silva is one of the best centre backs over the world last few years. Mbappe, Neymar - that tells you everything about their evolution.

“We know we’re playing against a team with confidence as they’re used to winning.”

Solskjaer revealed he watched December’s Champions League draw on TV with his son Noah in Norway.

A day later, he got the call from Ed Woodward, asking him to take over until the end of the season.

“I would’ve said yes if we didn’t play against PSG or in the Champions League,” he said. “When Man United ring you and ask you to help, you take a chance and you think you are going to help them and I believe in the way I do things.

“It is a fantastic game to look forward to. The Champions League is a fantastic tournament. It is a test for our whole team.”