SOLSKJAER LOSES HIS COOL
United manager ‘threatened to sell half the squad’ after shock Cardiff defeat
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer was so incensed with his Manchester United players after the Cardiff defeat that he threatened to sell half the squad, according to reports.
United were left humiliated after a 2-0 defeat by Neil Warnock’s side at Old Trafford on Sunday.
According to The Sun, Solskjaer told his players that he planned to sell some of them as he plots a summer rebuild of his team.
The United boss also cancelled the club’s end of season debrief on Monday after calling his players a ‘disgrace’.
The 46-year-old has been left angry at the attitude of some of his players after a terrible end to the season.
United finished the season in 6th place in the English Premier League to qualify for the Europa League.
Solskjaer knows he needs to act
quick in order to prepare properly for next season.
Plans for next season may also need to be altered should Watford find a way to beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday.
Should Watford win the FA Cup, United would have to start the Europa League in the second round of qualifying.
Asked what he thought was behind United poor end to the season, Solskjaer said: “We just need to get that consistency at home, being able to win games and dominating more games.
“I think we’ve been fantastic with counter-attacking football but must improve on dominating more games.
“The last period has been difficult but that doesn’t mean the team or players have become any worse. We’ve just found it hard. It’s been a long, emotional season for them physically, as well as emotionally.
“When you lose your manager halfway through the season, it’s not easy for the players.”
Meanwhile, former United manager Jose Mourinho believes the problems which blighted his reign at United are still evident at the club, claiming the underlying issues are not limited only to the players.
Mourinho was axed as United boss back in December following a dismal run of results and a public falling out with record signing Paul Pogba on the training ground.
But when asked whether Pogba was the biggest problem at Old Trafford, Mourinho offered a definitive analysis about the deep-rooted issues which are hindering United’s progress.
“The problems are there, you can say that these are the players, the organisation, the ambition, I only say that I can not say yes when you ask if Paul was the only one responsible,” Mourinho told L’Equipe.
Following his acrimonious exit, United enjoyed an incredible upturn in results, but their newmanager bounce soon subsided and the club finished the season in dreadful form.
Mourinho, following his sacking, said finishing second in the Premier League might have been his greatest achievement in management.
It is a statement, he believes, has now been proven correct following the conclusion of this season.
“I said nine or 10 months ago that after winning eight Championships, finishing second with United may have been my greatest achievement,” he added. “Now people understand.
“I do not always do my analysis publicly on Manchester United. I do not want to talk about it and I have the feeling that I do not need to speak, that time gives explanations.
“About United I want to say only two things: One is that time has spoken. Two is that the problems are still there.”
His final six months were undermined by squabbles with the board over transfers, with Mourinho denied the funds for the centre-back he craved.
In two-and-a-half years at Old Trafford Mourinho lifted the League Cup and the Europa League in 2017.