Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be on hand to help United's strikers this season as he prepares to move onto the next phase of his career as a coach.
The 34-year-old Norwegian called time on his playing career on Tuesday after a long battle with injury. Solskjaer will complete his coaching badges over the coming year, but in the meantime will provide support for the Reds' attacking brigade.
"I've told Ole to get his coaching badges so he can eventually progress to being a coach or a manager," explained Sir Alex Ferguson.
"We're helping him do that by including him in the coaching staff this season. He'll assist from a technical point of view with particular focus on the strikers.
"We're delighted that we can help him because he's got the knowledge and the experience to become a good coach."
Sir Alex admits he was a little surprised by Solskjaer's decision to retire, but believes he will benefit from plying his coaching trade at Old Trafford.
"He's shown fantastic courage over the years with his injuries," said the manager. "It was a real bonus to get 11 goals from him last season, we didn't expect that. I think his later operations - the one in March and then in the summer - got to him in a big way in the sense of he knew it would be hard to come back from them.
"He tried to train about ten days ago and it didn't work out again and I think he knew it was the end. In a way it's happened at the right moment because it gives him a chance to be a coach with us. If he takes his badges and does what he needs to do then he's got a chance."
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