Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he asked Sir Alex Ferguson's advice over taking the Cardiff City job, adding: "He has wished me the best and given me some good advice as he always does. I had a good conversation with him."
Which can only beg the question: has either of them read the former Manchester United manager's My Autobiography?
In his book, the Scot reveals that Kenny Dalglish approached him in 1985 after being offered a management job that turned out to be Liverpool, and Ferguson laid down four criteria for accepting the post.
"'Is it a good club,' I asked him.
"Aye, it's a good club,' he said.
So I told him: if it was a good club, with good history, some financial leeway, and a chairman who understands the game, he would have a chance. If only two of those variables could be ticked off, he was in for a battle."
So just how many of those "variables" can be ticked off by Cardiff City?
1) A good club?
Answer: They have a new 28,000-capacity stadium, are in the Premier League for the first time and can call upon a rich owner.
Verdict: A tick
2) A good history?
Answer: Well, they have a history if you count being around for just over a century. Not much of one, though, with just the 1927 FA Cup win to boast about, and their recent history is one of upsetting the fans over kit changes and the sacking of a popular manager, Malky Mackay.
Verdict: A cross
3) Some financial leeway
Answer: Solskjaer has reportedly been promised funds in the January transfer window, but as the club's director of recruitment, Iain Moody, was replaced in October amid allegations of a £15m transfer overspend, that remains to be seen.
Verdict: Giving them the benefit of the doubt, a tick
4) A chairman who understands the game?
Answer: A tricky one this. Mehmet Dalman is a Cyprus-born merchant banker and how much he knows about the game is debatable. He is, however, answerable to the club's owner Vincent Tan – a man who was accused of "knowing absolutely nothing about football" by the Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.
Verdict: A cross
Just two of the criteria met then. You're in for a battle, Ole – it may not be too long before you're pining for the fjords.
