Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to remain in charge as Manchester United manager despite their heavy defeat at the hands of Liverpool.
The feeling within the club is that while the result was bitterly disappointing and painful for everyone, the immediate focus is on improving after picking up one point from their last four Premier League games.
United’s next two Premier League matches are against Tottenham and Manchester City and they also face Atalanta in the Champions League next week.
But despite their poor results and huge external speculation, there is no suggestion from inside the club that Solskjaer’s job is under threat at this point.
Sky in Italy is reporting that former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has been in contact with United about taking over should they decide to make a change.
However, Sky Sports News understands that there has been no contact between the parties.
United is one of the few jobs Conte would be interested in if the managerial role were ever to become available. The Italian only takes roles at clubs that are set up to match his ambitions, and that would be the case at United.
Solskjaer called the 5-0 defeat to Liverpool – their heaviest home defeat in this fixture – his “darkest day” as United manager.
The Norwegian was adamant that the club are close to achieving success after he was asked if he was still the right man to lead the team.
“We’ve come too far as a group and we’re too close to give up now,” he said on Sunday. “I’ve heard nothing else [about a potential departure]. This is the lowest I’ve been, but as I’ve said, I accept the responsibility.
“I do believe in myself, I do believe that I am getting close to what I want with the club, I think what we’ve done, what I’ve seen, the development, of course, the results lately haven’t been good enough. But I’ve got to keep strong and I do believe in what we’ve been doing, the coaching staff and the players.”
Solskjaer now faces the huge task of picking up his squad and staff ahead of their trip to Tottenham on Saturday Night Football.
United are seventh in the Premier League after nine games, eight points behind leaders Chelsea, while Spurs are one point and one place above them in the table.
Source: Sky Sports
