Solskjaer has three games to save job
United manager could go earlier if side humiliated again Club have already begun the hunt for possible replacement
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been given three games to save his job as Manchester United manager.
Although senior sources insist it is not “absolute” he will be replaced if results continue to deteriorate before the next international break, the 48-year-old knows he is under threat and more poor results would make his position untenable.
United are understood already to have started the search for a new manager should Solskjaer be sacked, and part of the reason for delaying a decision is to give themselves more time.
United are away to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, then travel to Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday before the visit of Manchester City the following Saturday.
However, the situation is so precarious that a change may be made earlier if there were to be a repeat this weekend of last Sunday’s 5-0 humiliation by Liverpool. Either way, Solskjaer has been given no guarantees that he will remain in charge beyond the Spurs game.
The mood at the club’s Carrington training ground was turning to one of defiance yesterday. As the players returned after a day off, there was a sense of wanting to get behind the manager. Solskjaer addressed the squad and went through some of the recent failings in the hope of drawing a line under them and creating a “siege mentality” given the criticism United have faced.
Sir Alex Ferguson and former chief executive Martin Edwards were at Carrington but it was for a pre-planned appointment and there were no talks with Solskjaer, who was also at the facility on Monday, when his future was discussed.
Sources insist there is a growing determination to “turn things around so that Ole can remain as our manager” but there have been no assurances after talks with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and managing director Richard Arnold, even if it is understood that they want to remain supportive.
The two executives, who have been consulting with co-chairman
Glazer, who will make the final decision, want to give Solskjaer more time because they have backed him from the start and are desperate for him to succeed.
Solskjaer has also told them that he believes he is up to the job.
However, the stance also reflects the need to give themselves time to decide what to do if a change has to made. Until Sunday the hierarchy were 100 per cent behind Solskjaer.
United are aware former Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte wants the job but are divided as to whether he is the right manager because of his perceived combative style. Contact has yet to be made with the Italian and United were left scarred by the experience of being managed by Jose Mourinho. Conte would also
demand a degree of control that the club may not be willing to give.
Another potential candidate, the former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, is understood to prefer a move back to France to resume his career. He would be interested in Paris St-germain should Mauricio Pochettino leave, while United would be interested in the former Spurs coach.
Despite rumours that Pochettino has not settled, PSG triggered a contract extension in the summer after Spurs tried to take him back, and would see it is as point of principle to hold on to him. If he left it would trigger a huge compensation payment, as would a move for Leicester City’s Brendan Rodgers.
A decision to sack Solskjaer is complicated by the fact that United do not believe there is a viable candidate internally as caretaker. None of his assistants, including Michael Carrick and Mike Phelan, appear suitable unless as a very short-term move before a permanent successor is appointed.
The club also do not like the idea of making a change this early in a season and either bringing in a temporary replacement or a manager who may demand wholesale changes to the coaching staff.
However, results may dictate otherwise and United are considering their options ahead of the international break, which would give them 14 days to find a replacement before they visit Watford on Nov 20.
Solskjaer is aware that his job is under threat, despite being given a new three-year contract in the summer and just days after Woodward said he was more convinced than ever that the Norwegian was the right man to deliver success.
However, United have not won a league game since mid-september, with some players, despite yesterday’s encouraging noises, having lost faith in Solskjaer and his inexperienced coaching team.
Given Solskjaer has a clear week to prepare for Spurs, the club will monitor closely what is happening in training as they seek a reaction to the Liverpool debacle. At the very least there has to be a better defensive display. Bryan Robson, the club ambassador and former United captain, said it looked like the players “didn’t care” against Liverpool and added of Solskjaer: “Man United, as a club, we always give people a fair chance. Ole has got to turn it around quickly. We can’t have too many more performances like that, especially against the biggest opposition in the world for Man United.”