Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be the next permanent manager of Manchester United if he wins the Champions League this season, according to Gary Neville. The former United striker was handed the managerial reigns on an interim basis earlier this week following the controversial sacking of Jose Mourinho. Solskjaer is due to return to Molde at the end of the current campaign.
Neville believes his old teammate will be around at Old Trafford far longer should he steer the team past PSG in the next round of the competition and beyond. ‘I think it’s a temporary appointment before they get the man they want for the long term.
‘If he won the Champions League it’s inconceivable that he would be told to step down and I don’t think Manchester United would do that. But I don’t think Manchester United are good enough to win the Champions League. ‘To get into the top four would be a fantastic achievement but I do think they have done this to get the man they want at the end of the season, who is obviously not available now.’
The former Norway international’s last spell in Premier League management came four years ago when he was unable to save Cardiff from relegation but Neville believes he will return all the better for that experience. ‘He will be better for that experience at Cardiff,’ Neville said.
‘We have a stigma in this country against managers who have been sacked but it means he is more mature and experienced having had the experience, and is richer in some ways coming to Manchester United now after being at Cardiff and going through what went wrong.’