Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s position as Manchester United manager is looking increasingly precarious after the 5-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
With a 5-0 humiliation against his club’s biggest rivals at Old Trafford, the Norwegian may have at least bucked the “Merseyside curse” which saw off his three immediate predecessors; David Moyes and Jose Mourinho were sacked after defeats to Everton and Liverpool respectively, while losing to the latter in the Europa League at Anfield effectively spelled the end for Louis van Gaal though he stumbled on until the FA Cup final.
It is closer to home that Solskjaer’s future was cast into further doubt with United’s third loss in four league games.
i understands that he will still be in charge against Tottenham on Saturday, but that another disastrous result against Spurs or at Atalanta in the Champions League could bring his reign to an end.
According to widespread reports, senior officials including the Glazers, Ed Woodward and managing director Richard Arnold held talks on Monday to discuss the club’s direction.
Antonio Conte has emerged as the favourite, though journalist Fabrizio Romano contradicted reports that the former Chelsea boss has not yet entered into talks with the Red Devils even if he would be open to a Premier League return.
The Telegraph note that the Italian would demand “full control” if he were to take over, but that United had reservations about whether he would be the right fit given their determination for a “cultural reboot” post-Mourinho. The same report also cites a senior figure claiming United were “let off lightly” by Liverpool and pointed to Mauricio Pochettino, who United have admired since his time at Tottenham, as a potential successor though he is currently still in charge of Paris Saint-Germain.
Perhaps the most damning indictment comes from The Athletic, who have described the dressing room as “confused and divided”.
It’s claimed that a number of senior players blame the manager for their current predicament. The Independent state that many of them feel they receiving unfair flak for a lack of tactical direction and that they have openly drawn comparisons between the impact Thomas Tuchel has had at Chelsea since taking over midway through last season.
Nonetheless, Solskjaer remained defiant after the Liverpool defeat despite accepting that “results lately haven’t been good enough.”
“We are too close to give up now,” he told Sky Sports. “I have come too far, we have come too far as a group. I do believe in myself. I do believe that I am getting close to what I want with the club, what we’ve done… I’ve heard nothing else (from the club) and I’m still thinking about tomorrow’s work.”
Next Manchester United manager odds
- Antonio Conte 8-11
- Brendan Rodgers 6-1
- Zinedine Zidane 9-1
- Mauricio Pochettino 11-1
- Erik ten Hag 11-1
- Graham Potter 14-1
- Cristiano Ronaldo 19-1
- Massimiliano Allegri 20-1
- Julian Nagelsmann 20-1
- Ralf Rangnick 20-1
- Lucien Favre 20-1
Odds via Betfair and correct on 26 October
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3mdRGOs
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