Solskjaer will avoid using fear factor at Cardiff

The Welsh side have lost four of the five Premier League games - including a 3-0 derby defeat at Swansea City on Saturday - since Solskjaer was appointed at the start of the year and are second-bottom of the table.

Cardiff will attempt to arrest their slide by beating Aston Villa at home on Tuesday and former Manchester United striker Solskjaer has no intention of striking fear into his players in attempt to turn their fortunes around.

"It's down to me how I deal with this situation, how I come across to the players," he told Wales Online.

"Players won't reach their potential if you ram fear into them. Yes, we have to go with a little bit of 'We don't want to lose and feel defeat again', but they also have to go out and feel able to express themselves.

"It's more vital now that we speak to the players rather than going out onto the training pitch. There isn't much time between matches.

"You have to find a balance between risk and safety. I have to help put the players into the frame of mind where they can make the best possible football decisions in every minute. They need 90 minutes (of) concentration."

Cardiff's most recent humbling saw rivals Swansea defeat them 3-0 in the south Wales derby and Solskjaer has been impressed with his side's reaction to their latest setback. 

He added: "Players are able to cope with pressure. Their energy levels are fine; their attitude in training has been first class. They were bright, were given the option of joining in a training game and they all did.

"They have reacted in the right way after defeat. We had a great result against Norwich, went into the derby with high hopes and suffered a bad defeat.

"There are two ways to go - bounce back or feel sorry for ourselves. You can't feel sorry for yourself in the Premier League. The players are ready for the Aston Villa game."