Red Devils ‘a little bit further behind’ than boss hoped

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer accepts Manchester United are a “little bit further behind” in their development than he had hoped.

This will be an uncomfortable Christmas of introspection at Old Trafford after David De Gea and Aaron Wan-Bissaka errors gifted rock-bottom Watford a surprise 2-0 victory on Sunday.

United lacked intensity, verve and quality at Vicarage Road, where Solskjaer likened their first-half efforts to that seen at his testimonial after admitting his side did not deserve to win against the embattled Hornets.

It was the most chastening loss of the season and a performance that could hardly contrast more with the fine wins against Tottenham and Manchester City earlier this month.

United are also the only side to avoid defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League, yet such displays have been undermined by losses to Watford, Bournemouth, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Newcastle.

“We’re halfway through this season and we knew this season was going to be a season of some ups and downs,” Solskjaer said ahead of welcoming the Magpies to Old Trafford today.

“This season will be used to find a team and a squad for next season, but hopefully we can speed this process up by getting more results.

“Expect us to be more consistent, definitely more experienced and learning from these setbacks, but at the moment we’re a little bit further behind than what I was hoping for, yeah.”

Asked where he wants those improvements, Solskjaer said: “Of course we want to be a team that can go and dominate teams and break teams down.

“It’s taken Liverpool a few years to get to that state and we need to just keep on building because that’s what we want to get to.

One of the few positives at Vicarage Road was the impressive return of Paul Pogba, who had been out since September with an ankle injury.

The 26-year-old looked sharp when he came off the bench and could now start against Steve Bruce’s side.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer expects a “season of ups and downs”.