Ole tells players to fight like Fury
United boss urges his men to put Liverpool pain behind them
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer last night came out swinging as he looks to save his job at Manchester united. The united manager saw his team thrashed 5-0 at home by Liverpool last Sunday and now they face Tottenham in north London this evening.
Solskjaer revealed yesterday that he had spoken to former united boss Sir alex Ferguson and the club’s board this week. He insisted he had not asked for reassurances about his future.
But the norwegian told his struggling players they must take inspiration from world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury when they concede a goal.
‘You see Tyson Fury when he gets knocked down a couple of times,’ said Solskjaer. ‘It’s remarkable how calm and composed he is when he’s on the floor. He counts… six… seven… eight… then he gets up and is ready to go again.
‘Maybe against Liverpool we got up too early and tried to sort it.
‘It felt like we were a boxer being punch drunk, knocked down in the first four minutes or first round.
‘We wanted to sort it out and went a bit too open and too frantic against a good team. So our minds have to be better.’
united’s board continue to support Solskjaer but have had discussions this week about alternatives if results continue to slide. after Tottenham, united have big league games against City and Chelsea on the horizon.
asked whether he had spoken to Ferguson this week and whether he believed he could ride out this crisis like his former manager once did, Solskjaer said: ‘Yes and yes.
‘We had a commercial day and Sir alex came in to do some stuff. I met and spoke with him for a brief moment.
‘I’ve been through some very bad moments as a player here and when I’ve been a manager I’ve dealt with setbacks.
‘There have been two or three crises at least since I became manager here and one thing I can say is I’ll always give it a good shot and fight back.
‘It’s been a difficult week, of course. We’ve had to deal with the result and performance against Liverpool, which we know wasn’t good enough.
‘I’m responsible and it’s my job to put things right.
‘We need a reaction, we can’t have a performance like this again. nothing becomes history as quickly as a game of football and you have to move forward.
‘But this Liverpool game is such a dark moment and it will be in the history books for a long spell, so it’s even more important that we learn from it, put things right and make sure we’re ready for the next one.’
asked whether he had been reassured by the club this week, Solskjaer was non-committal.
‘I’ve had communication with the board and I don’t expect them to come and give me assurances,’ he added.
‘When you have a performance and a spell like we’ve had, that’s not what I call about and say…
‘My job is to put things right and that’s what I’m trying to do. I’m not here to ask for assurances.’
unfortunately for Solskjaer, his team have the look of a poor one that’s getting worse. This evening they are at Spurs. next Saturday it’s City — the champions — at home.
It feels ominous and at the club there have been discussions among board members about what to do next. There is no desire to sack Solskjaer.
‘It is still an absolute last ditch, no alternative option,’ a source told Sportsmail this week. nevertheless, united are seventh in the table and heading south. as such, possible replacements have been talked about.
antonio Conte is not a particularly favoured option. The former Chelsea manager has a reputation for being volatile and is expensive. One well-placed source explained that united have been burned by their experience with Solskjaer’s predecessor Jose Mourinho and do not want a return to those days of festering toxicity.
Sir alex Ferguson — the last man to bring united a title in 2013 — is supportive of Solskjaer but continues to hanker after former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino and, ideally, united would like a British coach or at least one with Premier League experience.
Someone, for example, like Leicester’s Brendan rodgers. But the northern Irishman has already turned down Tottenham and newcastle. unhelpfully, rodgers would like the job at City when Pep Guardiola moves on.
So united see no easy way out of their current fix. Conte has not been ruled out.
The Italian is available and interested and, if things continue to slide under Solskjaer, he may yet get the call. But for the moment, and if not necessarily for the right reasons, Solskjaer limps on.
Within his squad, there remains a will for Solskjaer to succeed. His players like him. Equally, there is no longer a belief that he can take them where they need to go.
Cristiano ronaldo — the stellar signing of united’s summer — is understood to be embarrassed by the team’s recent efforts.
Paul Pogba has already decided he does not wish to stay beyond the length of a contract that expires next summer.
among the united support, meanwhile, there has been an unmistakeable drift away from backing Solskjaer.
This week, united were able to send two players on a school visit for the first time since the restrictions around the Covid-19 pandemic were relaxed. It was a landmark moment for a club that values the work of its foundation.
Captain Harry Maguire and keeper Tom Heaton went to a school specialising in teaching children with learning difficulties but united’s official social media accounts publicised the visit only to find supporters posting abusive comments towards Maguire in particular. Pretty soon, the club disabled the comments section.
Meanwhile, a club Twitter post commemorating the birthday of Munich hero, the late Harry Gregg, attracted reactions such as #OleOut and #HireConte.
Internet content should never be taken as an accurate representative of any fanbase.
nevertheless, there is a growing sense of dismay and resentment among united fans now that has probably not been witnessed since the early days of Ferguson in the late 1980s.
a new breed of supporter weaned on a diet of trophies and glory has simply not been here before. The old guard, meanwhile, see a team a million miles away from the standards expected down the years. Last Sunday, hundreds left their seats with more than a third of the game still remaining.