Solskjaer and Blanc in hunt for caretaker role

Former Manchester United players Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Laurent Blanc have been linked with taking the caretaker manager role at the club until the end of the season after Jose Mourinho was fired yesterday.

Mourinho was dismissed from the manager’s role at Old Trafford after a troubled start to the season that has left them only sixth in the Premier League table, already 19 points behind leaders Liverpool.

Despite still being in the Uefa Champions League, with a last-16 tie with Paris Saint-Germain awaiting in February and March, United’s management have chosen to fire a third manager in five years since Alex Ferguson retired.

The club announced in a statement they plan to have a interim option in the role until the end of the season as they evaluate who will take the position permanently from next summer.

“The club would like to thank Jose for his work during his time at Manchester United and to wish him success in the future,” the club said.

“A new caretaker manager will be appointed until the end of the current season, while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new, full-time manager.”

Solskjaer, who scored the goal that won United the 1999 Champions League final, is in charge of Molde, but the Norwegian has previously worked in a management role at the club since retiring, coaching the club’s reserve side between 2008 and 2011.

He also had a brief stint managing Cardiff City in 2014 but was unable to prevent them from being relegated from the Premier League.

Blanc ended his playing career with United after helping them win the 2002/03 title.

The French World Cup winner as a player has since managed Bordeaux, the France national side and then Paris Saint-Germain, but has not had a managerial position since 2016.

Zinedine Zidane, who guided Real Madrid to three successive Champions League titles, and Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino are among the early names linked with the job long term.

Pochettino declined to be drawn on if he was interested in the role when he spoke yesterday ahead of Tottenham’s League Cup quarter-final tonight at Arsenal.

“I have a very good relationship with Jose, he is a good friend, it is sad news,” he said. “It is not my business what has happened in another club. I send my best wishes to Jose.

“After nearly five years there is a lot of rumours about my position as manager at Tottenham. I cannot answer this type of question because rumours happen.”

United are next in action on Saturday at Cardiff with their first game post-Mourinho being against Huddersfield Town on December 26.