Ole would listen to Villa offer

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is prepared to listen to an offer from Aston Villa if they make contact with him again, but is happy to stay at Molde.

Solskjaer, his wife Silje and agent Jim Solbakken were flown by private jet from their home town of Kristiansund to Birmingham for a four-hour meeting with Villa representatives on Friday.

They returned to Norway on Friday night to learn that Molde's billionaire backer Kjell Inge Rokke had pulled the plug on his company's 20-year support as a result of the meeting with Villa.

Solskjaer defended his handling of the affair, and said: "It's up to Aston Villa whether there's anything more.

"I've only spoken with them and expect them to speak to more people.

"They're looking for a new manager. If they make contact, I'll make a decision then."

He jokingly added: "But I won't wait for a private jet."

Solskjaer indicated he would be happy to remain with Molde, and said in comments reported by the Norwegian media: "I have not had any offers. I'm not looking for another job.

"In football, and in life in general, things turn up that you have to make decisions about. I have a contract for two more years and I'll stand by that."

Solskjaer suggested after his meeting with Villa that the talks had been nothing more than an "initial, informal chat", but the trip appeared to upset Rokke, who is the chairman and a major shareholder in industrial investment firm Aker.

A statement to newspaper Romsdals Budstikke on behalf of Rokke's business on Friday night questioned Solskjaer's decision to speak to Villa after the coach missed a training session with Molde in order to fly to England.

Although Solskjaer insisted he had done nothing wrong in talking to Villa, he admitted the situation could have been handled better.

"I would have spoken with them (Villa) regardless, despite seeing the consequences of it," he said. "I have to protect myself, my ambitions and my family.

"I've said for a long time I have ambitions of being a Premier League manager but I hadn't expected to receive enquiries so soon. I've only been home for 18 months.

"But I'm not looking for another job. My children are happy here, my wife is happy, I'm happy and I've had some success."

He added: "(Wigan manager) Roberto Martinez has been given permission to speak to Liverpool, who are a fantastic big club, and you know he has ambitions - not a problem.

"The communication could have been better and clearer, we see that with hindsight. But now we are where we are, it's obvious we have to work together.

"The players are used to speculation about me. What is new is we have lost the backing from Aker ASA, which I understand has been discussed at length.

"Whether it's coincidence or not, it's happened now, we'll get answers. I received a text from Rokke today and we'll discuss it with each other soon."

Solskjaer, who led Molde to the league title last season for the first time in their 100-year history and at the end of his debut campaign in charge, will now prepare for his side's game at Sandnes.

"I don't feel that I have lost anyone's confidence," he said.

"I had a good chat with Molde this morning where we agreed we should look forward. We have some challenges we need to tackle.

"I will also speak to Kjell Inge as I must apologise for the way this came out."

Molde chairman Oystein Neerland said Solskjaer has the full backing of the club despite the loss of their sponsorship deal with Aker.

"Molde FK have a contract with Ole Gunnar and Ole Gunnar has a contract with Molde FK. We see no reason to change that," Neerland said.

Villa are looking for a successor to Alex McLeish, who was sacked on Monday after a poor season.

Wigan manager Martinez and Norwich boss Paul Lambert have also been linked with the vacancy.