Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said that Manchester United have been the best team in the Premier League since December last year.
Despite moving level with Tottenham Hotspur in the race for a top-four spot, the Manchester United dressing room was ‘like a funeral’ after their 2-1 win over Watford this weekend, he has also revealed.
Since the arrival of the Norwegian last December, the morale of the Old Trafford side have been dramatically boosted. Last week, he was made permanent boss on a three-year deal.
United are now firmly in the race for Champions League qualification, with one point separating third-placed Tottenham Hotspur and sixth-placed Chelsea in what could be the tightest top-four race in the Premier League’s history.
Although the Red Devils secured all three points, left-back Luke Shaw was among those critical of the performance and he described the second-half display as ‘awful’.
And Solskjaer revealed that the mood in the United dressing room was one of disappointment even though they claimed an invaluable win.
“The feeling in the dressing room after was almost like a funeral,” Solskjaer said.
“They were all sat there, it was very quiet, they were all disappointed in their performance at full-time. It’s not like jubilation because we won and we got the three points.
“They all know that this was a below par performance, which is great because you want players to be honest with themselves.
“We know we can play so much better and they can do better. But players out there, they’ve struggled lately with injuries. We’ll freshen it up on Tuesday.’
Up next for United is a game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday. United were knocked out of the FA Cup by Nuno Espírito Santo’s men.
Solskjaer will be hoping for a good display against Wolves in order to build momentum as their UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash against Barcelona approaches.
‘Of course we want to do that,’ Solskjaer added. ‘We want to end the season on a high.
‘We’ve been the best team since just before Christmas with the amount of points we’ve got. We’ve played most of the teams.
‘By the end of the league then we will have played everyone in my reign and that’s maybe a truer reflection of where we stand.’