PA PhotosOle Gunnar Solskjaer would relish the chance to one day take over Sir Alex Ferguson's role at Old Trafford

Ole Gunnar Solskjær is a man with ambitious dreams. They include returning to Manchester United to take the club’s most senior position. "It's a dream but let's take just one step at a time. At the moment I've just started and it has been two years more or less in Norway," he said recently.

Arriving in the year of the club's centenary, along with former Manchester United coaches, Richard Hartis and Mark Dempsey - he took the club to the first Norwegian title in their history - earning him sanguine glances from those back in the North West of England.

His second attempt at success presented new challenges. They could no longer be the surprise package - he had suffered adversity in his first season when Pape Pate Diouf departed for FC Copenhagen midway through the campaign, but with the potential for Champions League qualification also in the midst, this was the time his early reputation would see most of its sculpting.

During the course of the season he purchased seven new players - of which only one, the returning Pape Pate Diouf via a loan deal - was over the age of 24. His young squad is supplemented by dashes of experience in the form of Magne Hoseth and captain Daniel Hestad amongst others. This season they have tried to gel defensively as a unit conceding seven fewer than last season in the process.

That is in part due to some impressive displays by Vegard Forren, who turned down two offers from Club Brugge at the end of last season, before celebrating his first spate of Norwegian call ups in 2012.

Still, with one game to play, they secured the league title after Rosenborg lost their third game in a row at home to Fredrikstad. That poor run of form was initiated by Solskjær’s Molde, who won not only three points but the tense psychological battle when they conquered the most dominant side in Norwegian football 2-0 at home.

As with any good championship campaign there were elements of fortune involved. Whenever Molde stumbled, their great rivals Rosenborg often did too. During the nine games in which Solskjær’s side did not finish victorious, the Troillongan could only claim victory themselves three times - one of which being when the two sides met in Trondheim back in July.

It would be disingenuous to suggest that a deficiency in challengers has made Solskjær’s achievement an easy one. His side have evolved. Still with Magnus Wolff Eikrem as the midfield fulcrum - the former Manchester United midfielder, who himself has strong roots with the club his father played for, he is also currently considered the best player in the league rankings, and showed just how much the title meant to him when informed by a reporter for TV2 at the weekend.

It is testament to just how highly Solskjær values the man he calls ‘Maggy’ that during his brief flirtation with Aston Villa, he was adamant that should he leave, Eikrem would be coming along for the ride.

Alongside his young talent, the club now possess a wealth of midfield options. Able to play solely through the middle, they can easily diversify their play with width, using the fastest player in Norway Joshua Gatt.

In attack, Jo Inge Berget has shown why Italian side Udinese had previously acquired his services with some impressive displays in a more withdrawn attacking midfield role.

Not as blessed with forwards as you might expect a title-winning side to be, only Davy Angan has managed over ten goals this season. Off the field Solskjær has done well to handle the conjecture of a move to England. Aston Villa, and to a lesser extent Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers all took an interest in relocating him, and despite appearing close to the job at Villa Park, he referenced his strategy of patience and building slowly - displaying the same calm composure often associated with his playing days.

The only blight on an otherwise immaculate season was their short Champions League campaign. Proving how finite the line between success and failure can be, they suffered a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Swiss side Basel. Perhaps more difficult to digest was that a last minute penalty in the second leg, missed by local man Magne Hoseth. Their ability to recover from such a setback provided a glimpse into his side’s character - something Solsjaker considers vital: "There are so many talents around but when they have character, hunger, the motivation to be better all the time, to improve, that's the key.” he said.

Having already been tipped by Sir Alex Ferguson to be his potential successor - Solskjær was able to endear himself further to Manchester United fans by aiming a subtle dig at Liverpool. "I don't think the audience are as excited about Steaua Bucure_ti as they would be if it was Liverpool coming to play,” He said before last Thursday’s Europa League tie against the Romanians, before adding: “But the truth is Steaua Bucure_ti is a far better team than Liverpool."

More than just cutting remarks, Solskjær’s conduct with the media has impressed those in his homeland. "He has a really strange aura. He is in charge of everything in the room. Without exerting authority he can achieve the desired effect by a look.” Lars Sivertsen, a reporter with TV2 told the Guardian recently.

They’re the kind of traits one might associate with those at the pinnacle of management, but Solskjær knows he’s not ready yet. “For a while, I’ll just get some fresh air and then you never know. It’s the most difficult task following the manager, but why not have big dreams?” He said during an interview for MUTV last season.

The writer Aldous Huxley once said: “Dream in a pragmatic way.” And given Solskjær’s sensible approach to his management career - it seems inevitable that he will one day return to take up the lead role he so often dreams about- with that same baby face and just a few more grey hairs.

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