Romelu Lukaku believes Manchester United are “back to ourselves” after a difficult few months.
Jose Mourinho’s sacking has rebooted things at Old Trafford, where Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could scarcely have wished for a better start to life as caretaker manager.
The Norwegian has overseen five wins from as many matches, emulating the great Sir Matt Busby in making that 100 per cent start to life in the United hot seat.
Saturday’s 2-0 win against Reading in the FA Cup was the most unconvincing of those triumphs to date, but Lukaku believes Solskjaer has got the team back to where it should be.
Put to the striker that things are going well after scoring in a third-successive match, he said: “Yeah, not only for me but for the rest of the team.
“I think we are back to ourselves and it’s good to see the players enjoy (it) and winning games, which is the most important thing.
“We are Manchester United and we try to go out there and win every game.”
Lukaku missed the first two matches of Solskjaer’s reign due to a private matter but has found the net in every appearance since returning.
There is no doubt that this has been a tough campaign for the 25-year-old, but he is clearly enjoying life under the former United striker.
“He helps us a lot,” Lukaku said of Solskjaer.
“In training when we do the finishing, he helps us a lot – how to strike the ball, how to move away from the ball.
“And the way how he wants us to play really benefits me because he wants me to be in a position where I want to be, so he understands what type of striker you are and he just plays to your strengths.
“Through the middle, just facing the goal at all times and he knows that I am dangerous in that manner but also helping the team off the ball and stuff like that.
“He asks me a lot and I try to pay off (that work) with goals.”
A lot is expected of Lukaku as the most expensive striker in United’s history, but he is not guaranteed a starting place under Solskjaer.
Marcus Rashford has shone brightest since the change in management, while the other attacking options have shown a renewed spark.
“Yeah, you have to (perform),” Lukaku told MUTV. “Look at the teams that they had back in the day and it was the same thing then.
“For me, I just take it one day at a time, one game at a time and I try to help the team by scoring goals.
“It is working for me now but it is working also for the rest and the team is benefiting from that.
“We want competition in all positions.
“The training sessions help us to prepare for the games and right now we are in a groove and we need to keep going like this.”
United’s next match is their toughest to date, but before heading to Tottenham next Sunday comes a warm-weather camp in Dubai.
“You know what, it’s going to be good for us as a team because we are performing really well but now going away it’s going us to help us become an even tighter group,” Lukaku added.
“We do a lot of stuff together off the pitch and now we are going to be together for a week and hopefully it can help make us an even tighter unit.”
While United look to rack up a sixth-straight win in all competitions, struggling Championship side Reading will hope their positive performance at Old Trafford can inspire the end to a rotten 11-match winless streak.
