Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville says Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has produced the best brand of football since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club in 2013. He also believes the club will make Solskjaer permanent manager during the upcoming international break. The Norwegian has made a near-perfect start to life at Old Trafford since replacing Jose Mourinho but took his tenure to new levels with an astonishing 3-1 win against PSG on Wednesday. United have accrued 32 points out of a possible 36 points under Solskjaer and the 46-year-old has overtaken Mauricio Pochettino as the favourite to land the job permanently.
With United on such a fine run of form, the club had been expected to wait until the end of the season before appointing Solskjaer so as not to take away the squad’s focus.
However, Neville believes the club will not postpone the appointment for much longer and will announce the decision later this month. ‘I think he will definitely get the job,’ said Neville. ‘United have tried everything the last 5-6 years. Ole has produced the best football in the last 7 years since Sir Alex left, the players seem very happy. I’m certain United will appoint him I will be surprised if Solskjaer isn’t awarded the job during the International break in the next couple of weeks’.
Solskjaer’s appointment was met with some derision when he was named caretaker boss in December. The Norwegian failed at Cardiff and many – including Neville – felt he was a stop-gap. However, Neville says he’s proved everyone wrong.
‘I can’t believe what’s happened,’ admitted Neville. ‘I thought when he first came in that it was to reconnect the club to the fans, the players, to get everyone happy – a safe pair of hands. Someone that the club can rely upon to give good information to the board about what the players are like and then they would appoint the best manager in the world [but] Ole’s results are Premier League title-winning results. The form guide says it all. ‘The performances are very good, the fans are loving it, it’s been a sensational three months.’