Rio Ferdinard: ‘He’s earned it, Man Utd defeats don’t hurt Solskjaer’s job hopes’

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Back-to-back Manchester United defeats should not damage Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s chances of becoming the club’s manager on a permanent basis, says Rio Ferdinand.

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The ex-Old Trafford defender is backing his former team-mate to get the manager’s position on a full-time basis despite losses to Arsenal and Wolves.

The Old Trafford interim boss has rejuvenated United after being put in charge until the end of the season in the wake of the sacking of Jose Mourinho in December.

Losses to Arsenal in the Premier League and Wolves in the FA Cup in their last two games have put a dampener on his impressive start in the role, however.

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Despite that, Solskjaer’s success in breathing life into a disastrous Premier League campaign and leading the club into the last eight of the Champions League, means the Norwegian remains favourite to be named the Portuguese’s long-term successor in the summer.

And that is what should happen according to former United and England defender Ferdinand. He said “These two defeats were a setback, but it changes nothing for me. “He has done more than enough to deserve a chance to have the job and I believe the club have only one decision to make when they appoint their next manager.

“When he came in the door, if someone said to the United owners that they would be knocking on the door of the top four in the Premier League and in the Champions League quarter-finals, they would have jumped at that.

“He won all those games at the beginning and it is inevitable that his team will slip up at some point. Look at where they were when the previous manager left and compare it to the mood around the club now.

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“You have to give a lot of the credit for that revival to Solskjaer and that’s why I believe he has to get the job.” Ferdinand believes United, who have won 14 of the 19 games the 46-year-old has overseen, need a change of tack after first David Moyes, then Louis van Gaal and Mourinho failed to live up to the standards set by Sir Alex Ferguson.

And he says the stunning comeback win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League’s last 16 shows the players have been galvanised by the former Old Trafford striker. “We have tried different managers, tried different philosophies and finally we have gone back to what worked in the past and what will work in the future,” added Ferdinand.

“I just hope the club’s owners realise that the way they have run the club and the managerial changes they have made at a rapid rate is not how United works. You need people in charge of the team that understand this club and that is what we have got now.

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“I didn’t think United had a chance against PSG when the draw was made and they had an even slimmer chance after losing the first leg 2-0 at Old Trafford, but they got through and they did it after producing a top-class performance in Paris.

That display alone shows why Solskjaer has earned the right to have a chance to be the club’s next permanent manager and I’m sure he will get that opportunity.”

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