Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s credentials as a potential permanent manager for Manchester United has been put under the spotlight again after recent two losses.
Wolves dumped Man United from the FA Cup and Arsenal beat them 2-0 at Emirates to put a break on Solskjaer’s men race to capture the automatic Champions League slot. Discussing Solskjaer’s credentials on Sky Sports, Oliver Kay, Chief football writer for The Times argues that Man United board should judge the Norwegian based on what he can deliver in the long term rather than a short-term achievement that can be deceptive.
“If you look at the last three months, he has done a fantastic job – nobody can dispute that. But the question of whether he is the right man for next season shouldn’t be based on whether he wins a cup or that he beat Paris Saint-Germain or whether they get into the top four.”
“It should be based on what the board think he can do next season. It should be based on whether he is the right man to do it medium to long-term. To me, if they had rushed into appointing him on the basis of the first few months, that would’ve been a mistake. I’ve criticised the United boards a lot over the past few years, but when people are saying, ‘why don’t they announce it?’ I think United are right to be just a bit more circumspect about that. What happens if they just level off between now and the end of the season? Would it still be the right thing to appoint him?” Kay argued.
Jeremy Cross of The Daily Star argued that Man United played as if they were still under Jose Mourinho as there was no urgency and speed on the ball altogether against Wolves. The two losses, according to the analyst should not paint a bad picture of the caretaker manager as his past achievements since taking over the reins have been good.
“They played quite well against Arsenal, but on Saturday it looked like [Jose] Mourinho was back in the dug-out. There was no urgency and no speed to their passing. All the best players were on a day off. Everyone is debating why the board have not made Solskjaer manager on a permanent basis. Why wait until June? He’s clearly the outstanding candidate for the job. One theory is that if they do announce it, there may be a lull in performance. You could argue that if there might be a lull in performance then why give it to him anyway.” Cross explained.
“If you go back two months, United supporters would snatch your hand off for where they are now. They’ve got a genuine chance of getting into the top four, they’re going deep in the Champions League. They’ve just had a bad week, really, but I don’t think much has changed. I don’t think the board think any differently of Solskjaer. They just had a bad day yesterday, and the pressure is now on when they return against Watford.” Cross added.
Man United remain in the hunt of the Champions League glory after failing to progress in the domestic cup race.