Ten months & still unfit for purpose

OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER has admitted his struggling Manchester United stars are still not fit enough.

But the under-siege Old Trafford boss has not dismissed the possibility that his increased training and conditioning demands have played a role in a heavy early-season injury list.

Axed England midfielder Jesse Lingard became the latest player to be hit by the curse, picking up a hamstring injury as a late substitute in the poor Europa League display against AZ Alkmaar in Holland on Thursday.

French striker Anthony Martial is still sidelined with a thigh injury sustained in the Premier League defeat by Crystal Palace six weeks ago and is expected to miss his seventh game at Newcastle today.

Full back Luke Shaw is still recovering from a hamstring strain suffered in the same game.

On top of that Marcus Rashford has been troubled with a minor groin problem, and World Cup winner Paul Pogba is a doubt for today’s vital clash at St James’ Park with an ankle injury.

Speculation has increased that United’s spate of ‘soft tissue’ injuries is due to Solskjaer’s tougher fitness regime.

But the United boss, appointed initially as caretaker in December last year, insists he’s determined to get his stars properly fit – and he’s ordered a review into how injuries are happening and being treated.

The Norwegian said: “If you are going to survive in modern-day football, you have to be fit. They have to be fitter than what they were when I came in.

“We are still working on it and they will get there.

“There’s loads of different reasons players get injuries. It’s something we look at all the time. There’ll be headlines if I say it’s this, that or the other. But we are working on improving every department in the club.”

It’s believed Solskjaer is looking to shake up United’s medical team, with former Tottenham, Leeds and Birmingham physio Tim Williamson – now in his second spell at Celtic – on their radar.