WING AND A PRAYER
Dan James has opened up on the heart-to-heart with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that revived his career.
The Wales star, 23, continued his red-hot form with the winner over Czech Republic in Tuesday’s vital World Cup qualifier. James has also been flying for Manchester United and is a first-team regular, starting eight of the last ten games under boss Solskjaer.
But the wideman admits the upturn in his career only came after he knocked on Ole’s door in November. James, who moved from Swansea in June 2019 in a deal worth up to £18million, said: “I wasn’t playing much and I thought, ‘Do I accept this and just be in the background?’.
“I wanted to be at United — I didn’t want to be anywhere else. I spoke to the gaffer before the Istanbul Champions League game and told him I was ready to play. He said, ‘I can see the way you’re training — and you look back to being you again’.
“Sometimes it’s hard to go to the gaffer. I speak to him every day but going to see him one-to-one, being confident and saying I’m ready to play means you have to go out of your comfort zone.
“Coming out of that meeting, I think he loved I did that. He played me, I came on and scored.”
