Ole Gunnar Solskjaer warned his Manchester United players: “You will not throw me under a bus.”
The beleaguered United boss has responded defiantly to claims by former team-mate Roy Keane that some big-name stars are betraying him.
Solskjaer said: “It was Roy Keane who spoke about me being thrown under a bus, wasn’t it?
“That is not going to happen. I have got three years here now – and I am going to do whatever I can to make this club successful.
“We will do that together. It is not like the players are against the managers here. The supporters know and we know that we are working together to improve things.”
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Solskjaer insisted he is prepared to do whatever it takes to bring the glory days back to Old Trafford.
He believes he has the full backing of the club’s owners to root out any poisonous dressing room influences after a sequence of seven defeats in nine games.
And the Norwegian has made it clear that he will now show the same ruthless streak as Sir Alex Ferguson when it comes to dealing with his players.
But United are in their worst run of form since 1962.
In the space of 12 days they were knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona , humbled 4-0 at Everton , and given a derby drubbing at home by rivals Manchester City .
(Image: PA)
Solskjaer’s hopes of celebrating the three-year contract he signed just a month ago by clinching a top-four finish are now hanging by a thread ahead of Sunday’s vital clash with Chelsea at Old Trafford.
The United boss is keen to play down suggestions that he has set his sights on becoming Sir Alex 2.0.
But he has questioned whether some of the players he has inherited would have survived during Ferguson’s reign.
And as he looks to emerge from his first crisis he referenced the way the Scot was able to weather his own early problems as manager.
Solskjaer said: “Maybe some of the players could not have handled Sir Alex the way of managing.
(Image: Getty Images)
“This is a different generation of players. They know that times have changed and that we now do things differently to previous managers.
“What the gaffer did was unbelievable, but we can’t try to copy Sir Alex because he was unique. We have to do our own way.
“All managers know that when they take over at a club there is two scenarios.
“Either the club are not happy with what’s been happening or the manager has gone on to bigger things.
“Clearly, at Man United, you only take over when it has not been up to the standards everyone wanted.
“I have not inherited a Championship team championship-winning team that keeps on winning.
“I need time to rebuild and put my own stamp on it.”
