Four years ago, GulfWeekly’s Editor Stan Szecowka interviewed Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when the Norwegian visited the kingdom as part of the club’s partnership with VIVA Bahrain.

At the time, United had just scraped a fourth-place finish under Louis van Gaal in the Dutchman’s first campaign, a year after David Moyes’ disastrous reign ended in the Scot’s sacking.

Stan posed the question: “What is the secret to getting Manchester United back to being a championship-winning team again?”

Solskjaer’s reply?

“Well, if I knew that, I’d probably get the job.”

Fast-forward to the present day, and the baby-faced assassin DOES have the job, albeit on an interim basis after the sacking of Jose Mourinho.

The lofty goal of winning the championship is out of reach – the title tilt long since sailed down the swanny after a dreadful start to the season under the Portuguese coach. However, United are the form team in the land, with eight straight victories at the time of writing.

So, does Solskjaer have ‘the secret’, or is it a case of beginner’s luck?

Indeed, the questions being asked about the 45-year-old are now being framed in a very different context.

The discussion has travelled from ‘can United really give it to Solskjaer?’ into the direction of ‘can United actually give it to anyone else other than Solskjaer?’

There would still be a huge element of risk given Solskjaer’s previous Premier League failure at Cardiff City and the suspicion remains that if there was an easy path to appointing Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino, this would still be the preferred option for United’s decision-makers.

This question was posed before the meeting with Spurs at Wembley after Solskjaer’s arrival had coincided with a soft landing cushioned by a relatively comfortable fixture list.

Solskjaer engineered a victory in that game, his biggest test up to that point, before overseeing last Friday’s impressive victory in the FA Cup at Arsenal, another significant win at the home of a close rival.

And, with every win, the body of evidence that strengthens Solskjaer’s case grows.

Solskjaer has exceeded expectations and met every demand that would have been made on him by Woodward and his colleagues in the Old Trafford hierarchy when he answered their emergency call.

He has made Manchester United a happy club once more. The scowls of the Mourinho era have been replaced by smiles – but it is about much more than improving the mood. In some ways this is only the window dressing.

Solskjaer made that his starting point. It is on the pitch where he had to earn full marks and he has succeeded.

He has formed a close-knit management team with the return of wise old head Mike Phelan to work alongside Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna.

And, most importantly, Solskjaer’s Manchester United have been playing in a manner – a victorious one – that had been mislaid in the last 18 months under Mourinho.

Solskjaer has proven to be tactically astute and flexible in his two biggest games.

He has fired up key players such as Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial, while releasing the huge potential of Marcus Rashford – that midas touch again.

Questions do still remain in my mind. Would Solskjaer have the same impact if the players knew he was their full-time boss? Would the sheen and novelty wear off? How would they react when he disappointed them with bad news?

It’s easy to think everything is rosy when you’re winning, but an inevitable loss is coming eventually. Will that burst the bubble?

This is a huge decision for Manchester United.

Did they really anticipate they would be discussing Solskjaer as the permanent successor to Mourinho when they took the decision to dispense with The Special One?

It would be a courageous move but Solskjaer is giving them that choice to make and adding weight to his claims with every game.

Solskjaer has moved United to within three points of Chelsea in the Premier League’s top four and has now taken United into the FA Cup fifth round after a potentially hazardous away draw.

It is by no means a done deal, nor should it be at this stage, but Solskjaer has got two huge opportunities coming up to make himself close to indispensable in the eyes of United’s supporters and those charged with making that next appointment.

Manchester United face Paris St-Germain in the Champions League last-16 first leg on February 12 and then face Liverpool at Old Trafford shortly afterwards.

If Solskjaer can guide United past PSG over two legs in the Champions League quarter-finals and throw in the sort of victory that always appeals to United’s fans’ senses – damage Liverpool’s title ambitions – the bandwagon may gain unstoppable momentum.

In the interview with Stan back in 2015, Solskjaer also pointed what characteristics were needed to play for Manchester United.