Solskjaer can put spring in United’s step

again. Like United, they see 46-year-old Pochettino as the ideal coach to take their young squad forward with his brand of progressive, vibrant football.

Ed Woodward, the Old Trafford executive vice-chairman, would have preferred for Mourinho to continue until the end of the season, but Sunday’s pathetic 3-1 defeat at Liverpool was the final straw. Mourinho was summoned to a meeting at United’s Carrington training complex yesterday morning and sacked by Woodward. The 55-year-old cleared his desk and picked up his belongings from a suite at The Lowry hotel before returning to his family home in London.

The decision to sack Mourinho was welcomed by the majority of the United players, many of whom had fallen out with the abrasive Portuguese coach over the course of his two-and-a-half years in charge.

His coaching staff were also axed, with the exception of Spanish goalkeeping coach Emilio Alvarez who is a close confidant of David de Gea. That left Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna to take training yesterday.

They will remain key figures in the new set-up which represents a dramatic swing back to the Ferguson era.

Solskjaer will forever be remembered for his winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich that secured the Treble. The Norwegian, who signed a new contract as coach of Molde earlier this month, had a difficult spell at Cardiff City in 2014.

However, Woodward wants someone immersed in the United culture who knows the fabric of the club and can put a spring in its step after the torpor of Mourinho’s reign.

He has a good relationship with Solskjaer, who has attended four United games recently and worked with Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard in an earlier role as reserve team manager. Ferguson was dismayed that David Moyes dispensed with the services of his backroom team when he took over in 2013, and has been looking to find a role for Phelan. The 56-year-old has been working with Central Coast Mariners in Australia.