OLE OUT

Photos: Reuters By: HERMAN GIBBS

Manchester United’s rapid decline lies solely at the door of their manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

WHEN the Mohamed Salah-inspired Liverpool hammered Manchester United 5-0 it was time for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær to head for the exit at Old Trafford.

Solskjær described the defeat to United’s arch-rivals as his “darkest” day yet as the club’s manager with many of the club’s supporters exiting Old Trafford at half-time when the Red Devils were 4-0 down.

“It’s not easy to say something, apart from it’s the darkest day I’ve had leading these players,” said Solskjær.

United’s hammering at ‘The Theatre of Dreams’ triggered calls for the Norwegian to be fired. The team’s dreadful run under Solskjær’s watch is hardly what fans expected after United secured the high-profile signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-times Fifa Ballon D’Or winner, in the summer.

Incredibly, Solskjær has survived being sacked, despite another nauseating 2-0 loss to neighbours Manchester City in early November prior to the international break. There has been no official word from the Manchester United board, but speculation is that there is no succession plan in place, and that he’s been granted a stay of execution.

There is also speculation that Solskjær’s former manager Sir Alex Ferguson has urged the board to be more patient with United’s managers since Jose Mourinho was sacked in December 2018.

Solskjær insists that he has not lost sleep over ongoing speculation of his sacking.

“I do believe in myself; I do believe that I am getting close to what I want with the club. The results lately haven’t been good enough. But we’ve come too far as a group, and we’re too close to give up now.

“I’ve got to keep strong, and I do believe in what we’ve been doing, the coaching staff and the players. My job is to put things right, and that is what I am trying to do. I am not here to ask for assurances,” he said defiantly.

Since January 1, 2020, United have lost 10 Premier League games at Old Trafford, collecting 56 points at home during that period. It is, by some distance, the worst home record in comparison to City (76), Liverpool and Chelsea (67).

Even Solskjær’s former United teammates such as Roy Keane and Rio Ferdinand believe their mate’s hourglass may have run out of sand.

“Ole has got to take responsibility, of course he has. I’ve defended Ole for one or two years but he’s the manager and him and his staff needs to get more out of these players, particularly in midfield,” Keane said, while Ferdinand admitting the time may have come for ‘the baton to be handed over’ to another manager.” Top and right: Manchester United’s dreadful run under Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s watch is hardly what the Red Devils fans expected after Cristiano Ronaldo signed in the summer.

Manchester United’s dreadful run under Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s watch is hardly what the Red Devils fans expected after Cristiano Ronaldo signed in the summer.