UNDER-FIRE SOLSKJAER GOES ON THE DEFENSIVE

OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER can only hope Manchester United put up as good a defensive performance against Atalanta tonight as he did on the eve of this Group F tie at Old Trafford. A few days after leaking four goals at Leicester, United must pick themselves up for the next test in a crucial run of games that could easily plunge them from early-season malaise into full-blown crisis. After four defeats in seven games, this is a United team still woefully short of being the sum of its parts. But Solskjaer seized the opportunity to defend his record since succeeding Jose Mourinho in December 2018. ‘We’ve progressed over the years,’ he insisted. ‘Sixth when I was here for half a season then third and second. ‘You can see the progress, improvement and development, and this season we still want to improve. ‘Probably conceding four goals is a big eye-opener that we need to improve on different levels on loads of details. ‘Every team will go through a patchy period and we’re in one now. We hold our hands up that we need to improve. I’m just looking forward to the response.’ Solskjaer certainly needs one tonight. The Leicester defeat exposed a porous defence and midfield, and an attack either unable or unwilling to back up ability with hard graft. Gary Neville has been scathing about United but stopped short of calling for Solskjaer to be sacked. Fellow Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher wasn’t quite so charitable. Solskjaer yesterday suggested that Carragher’s views may not be entirely unrelated to United’s upcoming game at home to Liverpool. ‘Of course, we’ve got Liverpool on Sunday as well so Jamie is always looking at these little things,’ he said. ‘I’ve got my values, I’ve got my way of managing and I believe in myself. As long as the club believes in me, I’m pretty sure Jamie Carragher’s opinion is not going to change that.’ The indications are that Solskjaer retains the full backing of his employers. Does he feel safe in the job? ‘I’m in dialogue with the club all the time and that’s an open and honest discussion,’ he said. ‘There’s pressure all the time. There’s pressure on me, of course, but we’ve been through this before and come through it stronger as individuals and as a team. ‘Yeah, we’ve signed players that have raised expectations. ‘Other teams have signed players and improved as well, so we’re in the same boat as all the top teams. It’s important to bounce back.’ Kick-off: 8pm, Old Trafford. TV: LIVE BT Sport 2. Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland).