Solskjaer Addresses Speculation About His Man Utd Future

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists he still feels he maintains the full backing of the Manchester United board amid intense speculation surrounding his future.

The Premier League giants have made a catastrophic start to their domestic campaign, while their flawless start in Europe came to an abrupt halt in midweek following an embarrassing defeat in Istanbul.

Should Brighton defeat Burnley this evening, meanwhile, United will start in 16th place ahead of Saturday’s difficult looking trip to Goodison Park.

 Such a poor run of form has prompted reports of unrest in the camp, while Mauricio Pochettino, out of work since his departure from Spurs 12 months ago, has again been linked with Solskjaer’s job.

The 47-year-old, however, insists he remains confident he can turn things around, while he praised the club’s board and executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, for demonstrating strong leadership during a testing period.

He said: ‘I’ve always had a very good, open and honest and positive dialogue with the club.

They’ve shown strong leadership since I come in and with me today it’s sunny in Manchester, I don’t expect the wind to turn, there will always be pressure and expectations on us.

‘I became a man at Manchester United and have learned how to deal with good and bad times. You’re a top coach or manager when you win and bad when you lose because that’s the last game you played.

You aren’t really better than your last game. ‘Every game of football becomes history quickly and we need to go into Goodison Park in a positive frame of mind.’

Asked whether he was confident his methods are still capable of triggering an upturn in performances, Solskjaer added: ‘Yeah, why shouldn’t I be [confident of delivering success]?

‘If I don’t trust my belief and values and staffs quality and players’ quality, who else should? I don’t look at one or two results and fall like a house of cards.

‘It’s a setback, definitely, there’s been too much made of not scoring against Arsenal and Chelsea, there has been nothing in those games and it’s not long ago we were the best thing since sliced bread against Leipzig and PSG.

‘You have to have that belief, club have been very positive and shown me their character and strong leadership, I’m looking to Saturday morning, that’s another matter we can talk about