Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is on the brink of getting sacked as Manchester United manager after his team lost 4-1 to newly-promoted Watford on Saturday. The Glazers, who own the club, want Zinedine Zidane to replace the Norwegian, according to reports.
The journalists at The Times claim Manchester United called an emergency board meeting to talk about Solskjaer’s future. The virtual meeting was scheduled for 8 PM on Saturday, with Solskjaer’s compensation package on the table as well.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has won just four of his last 13 games in charge, with lackluster performances against rivals Liverpool and Manchester City adding huge pressure on his shoulders.
The Glazer family have also asked club officials to accelerate their attempts to persuade Zinedine Zidane to take over the managerial position mid-season. United is ready to increase their financial offer so they can have a better chance of convincing the three-times Champions League winner to join them. Zidane has been a free agent since leaving Real Madrid in the summer.
Solskjaer: ‘I believe we can turn this around’
Speaking after the defeat at Vicarage Road that left United seventh in the Premier League, Solskjaer insisted he feels capable of turning the club’s fortunes around. Solskjaer said he is not worried about getting sacked.
“It’s not for me to worry about,” he voiced, before adding: “I always have belief in myself but of course at the moment it’s a difficult time for us. I can trust every single one out there to give what they have and the staff is fantastic. I believe we can turn this around.”
Solskjaer is prepared to continue to “work as hard and as well as I can with the staff I’ve got, top people, professional players”.
The Norwegian accepted “the first-half [against Warford] is the worst we’ve played and it’s hard for me to explain why we played the way we did and allowed them to get in our box from nothing. The goalkeeper could go up to the halfway line and put it in the box — we were outfought”.
Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea apologized for the team’s performance, also using strong words to describe the team’s current situation.
“We are trying to give our best and to fight. But for sure something is wrong. It is very wrong. What we are doing is very low level and very poor. I have to say sorry to the fans,” De Gea commented.
Manchester United’s next game is against Villarreal on Tuesday in the Champions League. If they lose, they could find themselves outside the qualifying seats heading into the last round of the group stage.
The Red Devils are at +130 to win in Spain, with Villarreal now at +190. A draw is at +240.
Ahead of the game vs Watford, Solskjaer was the bookies’ favorite to be the next Premier League manager to leave his job.