Ole Gunnar Solskjær would not confirm whether or not Paul Pogba will return to the Manchester United squad for the Premier League game at Newcastle on Sunday, though he did admit that the chief reason he has stayed at home for the Europa League match on Thursday night is fears over AZ Alkmaar’s synthetic surface.

Strictly speaking the artificial pitch in question belongs to Den Haag – the game is at a borrowed venue because of storm damage at Alkmaar’s own ground – but Solskjær is something of an expert on artificial turf and confessed he would not have risked the player anyway.

“After discussions with the specialist we decided Paul’s ankle injury would benefit from further treatment and rest, but I wouldn’t have risked him on AstroTurf anyway,” the United manager said. “I’m surprised AZ have chosen to play in this pitch, to be honest. Coming from Norway I’m used to AstroTurf pitches and this is not one of the best I’ve seen, it’s actually one of the worst. The artificial surfaces we have in Norway are a lot more modern.

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“I’m not saying this one isn’t safe, but it seems like it’s been used a lot. I’m surprised anyone would need AstroTurf in this sort of climate. It’s OK when you live near the north pole, like we do, otherwise you would never get a full season, but I can’t say I’m a fan of artificial surfaces instead of grass.”

Solskjær knows better than most how artificial surfaces can exacerbate old injuries and cause new problems – “with my knees I’ve never really enjoyed it” – but also feels the surface alters the nature of the game. “I’m not complaining or trying to get excuses in early, it’s the same for both teams and we’ll just get on with it,” he said.

“But you have to play a different style of football on AstroTurf. You get a lot fewer tackles because players are reluctant to go to ground, and you find it is easier to pass because the ball tends to run true. We were always going to make a few changes for this match, it’s not so much the pitch as the fact it is a week of three games, but the knowledge that the middle one is going to be played on AstroTurf has to be factored in as well.”

Solskjær intends to field a blend of youth and experience, as he did in the first group match, when a much-altered side produced a somewhat laboured one-goal victory over Astana at Old Trafford, and insists at the moment he would be more than happy with a 1-0 win away from home. He is aware that United have yet to win away this season and in fact have not done so since the Paris victory in March that did so much to persuade the club to make his position permanent.

“AZ are a young team too, and you just hope that something goes right and confidence grows so that you end up with one of those feelgood nights,” he said. “I don’t believe our away form has been that bad, we are a good team that can set up to play on the counterattack, but we just haven’t been able to finish the away games off as well as we would have liked. I don’t like to keep being reminded the last time we won away was in March, I prefer to look forward and believe something might happen.”