A 2-0 defeat at home to Burnley has piled the pressure back on Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – and Gary Neville and Roy Keane have been accused of helping him keep his job.
Former Liverpool player Jason McAteer believes Solskjaer’s ‘friends in the media’ have kept United fans on side in what’s been another disappointing season post-Sir Alex Ferguson.
Goals from Chris Wood and Jay Rodriguez downed a lucklustre United side, who failed to close the gap on stuttering Chelsea and remain six points off a Champions League spot.
McAteer believes the buck has to stop with Solskjaer who isn’t ‘the right fit’ for the club and he suggested that his former Manchester United team-mates working as pundits are helping to keep fans off his back.
‘The manager that’s in trouble, his press conferences don’t fill me with any confidence when I hear him speak,’ McAteer told beIN Sports.
‘To come out of the weekend and say he takes hope from the Liverpool game and they’re not far away is ridiculous. It’s a man on the edge.
‘I think part of the problem is when you have a lot of friends in the media who are batting for your side or backing your corner, the fans will listen to the likes of Gary Neville – Roy Keane at the weekend was certainly very much in Ole’s camp, “Give him time”.
“He’s a manager that’s in trouble… They look lost at the minute… I just don’t think that Ole’s the right fit.”@MCATEER4 blames former #MUFC players Gary Neville and Roy Keane for keeping Solskjaer in a job! #beINPL #MUNBUR pic.twitter.com/shtH2FLrLX
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) January 22, 2020
‘The fans are going to listen to that and think, “yeah this is the way to go, let’s stick by him”, but how long are you going to stick by him?
‘His win ratio is one of the worst in Manchester United’s history and you’ve got some big managers out there who have won things and taken their clubs, Allegri with Juventus for instance, to big titles and Champions League finals and know how to manage big players.
‘I just don’t see any leaders in the team, I don’t think they know what they’re trying to do. There’s not that lovely blend of youth and experience.
‘They just look lost at the minute, Manchester United. I hate managers being sacked in this industry, they get sacked very quickly these days because of the results industry that we’re in but I just don’t think Ole is the right fit.’
MORE: Rio Ferdinand takes pop at Anthony Martial during Manchester United’s defeat to Burnley
MORE: ‘What are you doing?’ Rio Ferdinand slams new Man Utd captain Harry Maguire for Burnley goal
