Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has urged the club’s owners to stand by under-fire manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as he heads into a week that could make his position his position untenable.
After a 6-1 defeat at home to Tottenham last time out, Solskjaer is under mounting pressure heading into Saturday’s game at Newcastle.
The hard games then keep coming. After that, United face another acid test, this time in the Champions League. Their campaign opens with a mammoth task against last season’s finalists Paris Saint-Germain in France on Tuesday.
Robbie Savage is one such pundit claiming Solskjaer could soon lose his job if results don’t improve.
However, with the concerned voices growing louder, Solskjaer’s former United teammate Saha is adamant this is not the moment for the club to fire another manager.
“We are rushing to make a judgement on Ole and that is wrong after three games of the season,” Saha told TEAMtalk.
“You remember when he got the job. Everyone was convinced he had to be given a chance after they beat PSG in the Champions League at the start of 2019. They were playing some great football.
“I played with Ole and maybe you will say I am biased when I defend him. But I think we should not forget the really visible improvements we have seen from United in the last year.
“Now things are going in a different way. But it is the start of the season and you have to understand why it is not perfect at this momen.,
“You cannot forget everything that has happened in the last year and sack another manager just because they had a bad start to the season.
“This is not an easy job. It is tough to be manager of Manchester United and live up to the expectations that got with the job.
“But ditching a manager after three or four games of the season is not the way to go. Changing managers every year or after a bad couple of results doesn’t work.”
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Saha thinks win at Newcastle could change fortunes
Saha believes a win for United at Newcastle could transform the atmosphere around the club in an instant.
He also thinks poor performances in the opening month of the season may be due to a shortened pre-season.
“Right now, I feel there is a lack of energy in the team,” he added. “That may be because the players did not have much of a pre-season and are straight into games. But I believe that squad can still be a threat this season. There is a lot of talent in the dressing room.
“Remember what the atmosphere was like before Ole got this job. Some players were trying to leave, others wouldn’t sign contracts because the atmosphere at the club was very bad. That changed last season and that was down to Ole. People tend to forget this.
“There may be managers out there who have won more, but I still feel Ole can do a great job for United.”
READ MORE: Ighalo sends Solskjaer message after coming clean on Cavani signing
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The post EXCLUSIVE: Former striker pleads with Man Utd board over Solskjaer and points to ‘visible improvements’ appeared first on teamtalk.com.
James Marshment
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