Norwegian heroes Johnsen, Leonhardsen hail Solskjaer for Man Utd success | OneFootball

Former Chelsea defender Erland Johnsen is delighted seeing fellow Norwegian Ole Gunnar Solskjaer finding success with Manchester United.

Solskjaer's United remain top of the table after Sunday's 0-0 draw at Liverpool.

And Johnsen admits many inside the game in Norway are taking great pride in the way Solskjaer is managing United. The former Molde coach's time in charge at Old Trafford has been pored over in his native Norway and Johnsen believes Solskjaer's temperament has been key to this season's success.

"I am very impressed with Solskjaer. We should be proud of a coaching colleague who excels in one of the world's best leagues," Johnsen told VG.

Johnsen played with Chelsea for eight years before eventually entering management. Now 53, Johnsen is currently youth director of Sarpsborg 08 and has also been head coach of Lillestrom, along with Norway's U15, U17 and U18 teams.

He continued: "I think Solskjaer has been good at keeping a cool head and not getting carried away either when things are going badly or well. I think that is an important quality. There are many good clichés with 'one game at a time' and 'no one reads the table in the winter'."

Meanwhile, former Liverpool midfielder Oyvind Leonardsen is also happy seeing Solskjaer succeed with United - this despite Leonardsen's ties to Anfield. The 50 year-old also played for Wimbledon, Tottenham and Aston Villa in the Premier League.

He said ahead of Sunday's stalemate at Anfield: "I applaud Ole Gunnar, and I am proud that someone from the same place is the manager of such a large club. But I also played against him when he was a player at United, and I am supporting Liverpool."

- updated January 19