Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has praised the honesty of Daniel James following the winger’s rough ride against Tottenham in the International Champions Cup.
Manchester United’s £15 million signing was on the receiving end of a few heavy challenges from Spurs midfielder Moussa Sissoko as the Red Devils won 2-1 thanks to Angel Gomes’ 80th minute strike.
The former Swansea man has been thrown into the deep end in pre-season, receiving a taste of what the season ahead will be like as he become a marked man in a United shirt.
His manager was pleased to see how the 21-year-old handled things, however, telling reporters after the game: “Dan is so quick and it's not easy to time tackles against him.
“I can understand why players mistime their tackles on him, but he's a brave little boy and he just jumps up.
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“He's taken a few knocks on the tour, but as an old man I like to see tackles.
“There's no rolling about or diving or feigning with Dan. If he stays down it's because he's injured.”
The Wales international has impressed in his first few appearances for the club following his move from South Wales this summer, and could be in line to make his first competitive appearance for the club in their Premier League opener against Chelsea on August 11.
Unfortunately for Solskjaer, the game did throw up one injury problem as defender Eric Bailly was stretchered off after just 10 minutes to add to his list of injury woes.
Despite the risk of seeing another of his players struck down by a rough tackle, Solskjaer is a strong advocate of physical clashes on the pitch.
“Of course, we want players to be looked after, but it's a man sport,” he added.
“We can't lose tackling in football - as long as you tackle fairly.
“It's a competitive sport and we're preparing for the league - and that's why we have referees. I thought it was very good preparation for getting ready for the league.
“I have no qualms about some of the tackles. You worry, but we also gave, we didn't just receive.”
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