Daybreak, Politics, Entertainment, Sport

Tag: Solskjaer

  • Solskjaer admits concerns over players’ mental health

    Solskjaer admits concerns over players’ mental health

    Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has spoken in favour of increased matchday squads, as he believes isolation takes a mental toll on those not involved.

    Solskjaer is preparing his side for a meeting with Istanbul Basaksehir in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

    As well as being afforded the opportunity to make five substitutes, which cuts down the chances of players becoming fatigued, he will also be able to select a larger matchday squad than is allowed in the Premier League.

    When United travelled to Istanbul earlier in November, Solskjaer had 12 players on the bench during the 2-1 defeat.

    The expanded matchday squads allowed in Europe give managers more options from a tactical standpoint, but Solskjaer feels there is an intangible benefit in that the players benefit mentally from being involved as opposed to being in isolation at home.

    “So I like the five subs, I also like the size of the squads because the players feel involved, especially during lockdown,” Solskjaer said. “Sometimes if you’re told you’re not in the squad you’ve got to stay at home and you can’t go and see your friend or see the game with a friend. 

    “That’s another mental welfare that we have to look after with the players, so Champions League, I like it.”

    United occupy top spot in Champions League Group H ahead of Tuesday’s game, but their position is not secure following the shock loss in Turkey on November 4.

    Solskjaer does not have the luxury of being able to rotate his squad, but he has admitted he wants to get a breather into midfielder Bruno Fernandes at some stage.

    The Portuguese is pivotal to how United play, but the Red Devils are heading into a period of 11 games before the turn of the year and Solskjaer wants to give his star man a rest.

    “Bruno is not going to be able to play every single game, that’s for sure,” Solskjaer said. “So when he only played one-and-a-half games with Portugal during the international break I was very happy.”

    Following the game with Basaksehir, United travel to Southampton and that may be a game Fernandes sits out as immediately after that match is a clash with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

    RELATED POSTS:

    Man Utd’s links to Pochettino slammed by Ferdinand as club legend calls for Solskjaer respect

    Ole Gunnar Solskjaer explains Man Utd line-up as Paul Pogba, Donny van de Beek miss out at Everton

    ‘Solskjaer treading fine line amid Man Utd’s Pochettino links’ – Yorke

  • ‘Man Utd have got to get rid of inconsistency’ – Neville

    ‘Man Utd have got to get rid of inconsistency’ – Neville

    Manchester United need to “get rid” of their inconsistency to alleviate the pressure on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, says Gary Neville.

    The Red Devils have endured an up and down start to the 2020-21 campaign since starting a week later than most of the Premier League clubs due to their involvement in the latter stages of last season’s Europa League.

    A 3-1 defeat by Crystal Palace in their opening game was a prelude of what was to come at Old Trafford, with United yet to win at home in the league this season.

    Defeats by north London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal sandwiched a 0-0 draw with Chelsea, with their away form a stark contrast after a 3-1 victory at Everton at the weekend made it three wins from three games on the road.

    In the Champions League, United’s form has been similarly perplexing, with impressive wins over Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig followed by a shock 2-1 defeat away by Istanbul Basaksehir last week.

    The setback in Turkey heightened the pressure on Solskjaer going into last Saturday’s trip to Everton and the scrutiny looked set to increase when Bernard gave the home side an early lead.

    However, a Bruno Fernandes brace and a late goal from Edinson Cavani earned United a much-needed three points to move them up to 14th in a congested Premier League table.

    READ ALSO: Breweries mute as over N200m worth of beers destroyed in Kano

    Former United captain Neville, though, believes that until the Red Devils can produce a consistent level of results and performances, the pressure will remain on Solskjaer.

    He told The Gary Neville Podcast: “I was glued to the TV from 11.30am, thinking about the game, thinking about the previous week, and you just think: ‘We need a performance here, Ole needs a performance, the club need a performance, players need a performance’’.

    “They go behind, and I think United deservedly came out on top in the end.

    “They’re just so inconsistent. If you think about the last week, the performance against Leipzig, PSG, against Arsenal, in Turkey, they’ve got to get rid of that, it’s up and down.

    “It’s a thing that will always put them under pressure as players and a manager. You need consistency, ultimately that’s what a champion needs to be, and at the moment they’re inconsistent.”

    RELATED POSTS:

    Man Utd’s links to Pochettino slammed by Ferdinand as club legend calls for Solskjaer respect

    Mourinho winning the EPL title with Tottenham would alarm Man Utd fans – Neville

    ‘Pogba can’t be happy at Man Utd’ – Didier Deschamps

  • Man Utd’s links to Pochettino slammed by Ferdinand as club legend calls for Solskjaer respect

    Man Utd’s links to Pochettino slammed by Ferdinand as club legend calls for Solskjaer respect

    Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has slammed the club’s links to Mauricio Pochettino, with the former defender claiming no talks have been held and that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deserves more respect.

    Murmurs of change in the Old Trafford dugout are nothing new, with speculation surfacing every time a disappointing result is posted.

    There have been a few too many of those of late, leading to Solskjaer seeing his position called into question.

    A 3-1 victory over Everton last time out appears to have eased some of that pressure, but links to the likes of ex-Tottenham boss Pochettino continue to do the rounds.

    READ ALSO: Mourinho winning the EPL title with Tottenham would alarm Man Utd fans – Neville

    Ferdinand is disappointed to see a coach doing the best he can with an inconsistent squad facing more unwelcome rumours, especially as he sees no substance to such talk, with everyone in the United camp – on and off the field – pulling in the same direction.

    “Man United needed a huge performance and a result this weekend,” Ferdinand said on his FIVE YouTube channel.

    “The pressure was absolutely on this team and the management, they went out there and produced.

    “In the media, there’s been bit of disrespect to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to be honest. People touting about that Pochettino has been spoken to.

    “I’ve got it from a really, really, really good source that there’s been no conversations and they wouldn’t disrespect Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in that manner. I feel like that should be addressed.

    “We can all say ‘so and so will be good or better’, that’s just part of the game. But to say someone has been spoken to and is coming in imminently, when it’s not true, I think that’s out of order.

    “The man is in the job and his team have found a knack of always pulling a result out when they need it and this was no difference, they were solid.”

    Having made a welcome return to winning ways, United have the international break to devise a plan that will allow them to build much-needed momentum.

    They are due to return to Premier League action on November 21 with a home date against struggling West Brom.

    RELATED POSTS:

    Ole Gunnar Solskjaer explains Man Utd line-up as Paul Pogba, Donny van de Beek miss out at Everton

    ‘Solskjaer treading fine line amid Man Utd’s Pochettino links’ – Yorke

    Solskjaer backs himself to be Manchester United success

  • ‘Solskjaer treading fine line amid Man Utd’s Pochettino links’ – Yorke

    ‘Solskjaer treading fine line amid Man Utd’s Pochettino links’ – Yorke

    Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is “treading a fine line” at Manchester United with Mauricio Pochettino seemingly waiting in the wings, says Dwight Yorke, but the Red Devils have been urged to “respect” their current coach.

    It remains to be seen how much longer the Norwegian will occupy the dugout at Old Trafford as inconsistency in 2020-21 has led to uncomfortable questions being asked of Solskjaer’s ongoing presence in the most high-profile of posts.

    Various options are said to be in contention if a change is made, with former Spurs boss Pochettino and current RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann seemingly sitting among the frontrunners.

    READ ALSO: Bale could suffer setback working with Arsenal coach – Mourinho

    Yorke is reluctant to speculate on who would be best for United, as they already have someone at the wheel, but he does concede that vast improvement is required from a heavyweight outfit that continues to punch below its weight.

    The former Red Devils striker told talkSPORT: “There’s no doubt that Pochettino is a tremendous manager. I’m not going to speculate because Ole is in the job and we don’t want to see Ole get sacked.

    “I respect Ole, he’s a friend of mine, I want to see him come through this and I’m not going to speculate about other managers because he’s in that position and I think we ought to respect that at the moment.”

    Yorke added on the pressure Solskjaer finds himself under, which has been ramped up by Premier League struggles on home soil and a Champions League defeat to Istanbul Basaksehir: “He is treading a fine line. We all want him to be successful.

    “We all know that we’re in a results business. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve played for the club or what you’ve done, you’re going to be based on performance.

    “The only way to come out of that is to come out and turn the team around, turn the players around and get positive results.

    “I think the most frustrating thing is the inconsistency, it seems to be one step forward and two steps backwards.

    “That is something he needs to address and start on Saturday, because it’s become an enormous game for him.

    “It’s not been the season we expected, but people tend to forget last season he had a tremendous season in many respects, getting to three semis, winning big games when it really mattered.”

    United, who sit 15th in the English top-flight table at present, will be back in action on Saturday when they take in a testing trip to Everton.

  • Solskjaer backs himself to be Manchester United success

    Solskjaer backs himself to be Manchester United success

    Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is still determined that he is the right person to lead Manchester United back to the top and says he retains the backing of the board, despite recent results.

    His long-term future has been brought into question in recent days following back to back defeats against Arsenal and Istanbul Basaksehir.

    United travel to Goodison Park on Saturday lunchtime sitting 15th in the Premier League table having won just two of their opening six games, and while pressure is mounting on the United boss he is still backing himself to get the club out of their current slump.

    READ ALSO: Rashford picked out as England’s best player

    “If I don’t trust my belief and values, and my staff’s quality and players’ quality, who else should? I don’t look at one or two results and fall like a house of cards,” Solskjaer said in his pre-match press conference.

    “It’s a setback, definitely, but there’s been too much made of not scoring against Arsenal and Chelsea, there have 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.”

    It is understood Solskjaer’s job is not under immediate threat, despite poor start to the season with just two wins from the opening six games, and the Norwegian says he continues to have the backing of the board.

    “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,” he explained. “Today it’s sunny in Manchester, I don’t expect the wind to turn, always pressure and expectations on us.

    “I became a man at Manchester United and have learnt 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. Every game of football becomes history quickly and we need to go into Goodison Park in a positive frame of mind.”

    Nevertheless, the former striker is under no illusion as to the mounting pressure and knows it is something he has to accept as manager of United.

    “You have to be mentally strong,” Solskjaer said. “There are demands on Manchester United players, coach and manager and also an expectation, we are at the best and biggest club in the world and you don’t expect anything but criticism then, it is how you deal with that setback and from what I’ve seen from the boys they’ve been very focused.”

  • ‘It won’t be long before Cavani makes a big impact’ -Solskjaer

    ‘It won’t be long before Cavani makes a big impact’ -Solskjaer

    Edinson Cavani is getting sharper and sharper and it will not be long before the Manchester United striker makes a big impact at Old Trafford, according to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

    Cavani embarked on a new challenge in the Premier League by signing a one-season contract at Old Trafford in October, which includes the option of an extra year.

    The 33-year-old had been without a club since leaving Paris Saint-Germain in June, and has been granted extra time to build up his fitness since his arrival at United.

    He has had to be content with three substitute appearances for Solskjaer’s side so far, with his latest cameo coming during a 1-0 defeat against Arsenal on Sunday.

    The Uruguayan has only shown glimpses of his predatory instincts amid a lack of playing time, but his manager is confident he will soon be ready to prove his worth as a regular starter after seeing him make gradual progress on the training pitch.

    READ ALSO: Ola Aina Thrilled To Score First Premier League Goal

    “He’s generally a fit man anyway and he’s getting his sharpness in training and he’s got some substitute appearances now,” Solskjaer told a press conference ahead of the Red Devils’ trip to Istanbul Basaksehir on Wednesday night.

    “We haven’t managed to get him long enough yet to make a big impact but he’s looking sharper and sharper in training so it won’t be long.”

    One man who could slot straight into Solskjaer’s line-up in Turkey is Anthony Martial, who has just finished serving a three-game Premier League suspension after being sent off in a heavy loss to Spurs before the last international break.

    The Frenchman scored a penalty as United thrashed RB Leipzig 5-0 in their last Champions League outing at Old Trafford, and the Norwegian head coach is hopeful he will kick on to rediscover his best form in the coming weeks.

    “Anthony has been important for us last season and in the time I’ve been here. So, of course, to have him back is a boost,” said Solskjaer. “It gives us more options for up front and on either side, and we’ll look forward to seeing the best of Anthony.

    “I thought towards the end of the Leipzig game you could see his sharpness getting there and he was really positive and bright which is good.”

    Pressed on the need for his side to react strongly after suffering their third top-flight reversal of the season with a crucial clash against Everton looming large on the horizon, Solskjaer added: “Definitely. It’s always important to bounce back and respond after a disappointing day.

    “We’ve had some time to reflect over this [the Arsenal defeat] now and it’s gone, and we’ve got to get a performance in Istanbul and hopefully we’ll get three points and then we go to Everton.

    “Of course we’ve not been helped by the schedule but it’s another challenge.”

  • Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal: Aubameyang heaps misery on Solskjaer, secures win

    Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal: Aubameyang heaps misery on Solskjaer, secures win

    Arsenal beat Manchester United in the league at Old Trafford for the first time since 2006 thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s penalty.

    Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s 100th match in charge of Manchester United ended in a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored from the penalty spot.

    READ ALSO: Tambuwal Allocates Portfolio To New Commissioners

    The Gunners were much the better side in the clash at Old Trafford on Sunday and Aubameyang’s 69th-minute spot-kick secured their first victory at Old Trafford in the Premier League since September 2006.

    United created few opportunities in front of goal and the contest was settled after Paul Pogba was deemed to have fouled Hector Bellerin inside the area.

    The result helped Arsenal move up to eighth place in the table on 12 points, ahead of United in 15th, with the Red Devils winless at home in the Premier League this season.

  • Transfer: Solskjaer does not expect deadline-day arrivals at Man Utd

    Transfer: Solskjaer does not expect deadline-day arrivals at Man Utd

    Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does not expect Manchester United to do any deadline-day business but confirmed new signing Bruno Fernandes would be involved in Saturday’s home game against Wolves. The United boss has been open about his desire to bolster his squad with a striker after the injury to top-scorer Marcus Rashford and the summer exits of Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku.

    Joshua King, who played for the club’s reserves under Solskjaer, has been linked with a move and Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe did not rule out an exit, but the United boss is not expecting any arrivals. “I don’t think we’ll do any more business, no,” Solskjaer said at his pre-match press conference on Friday. The Norwegian said he was happy with the forwards at his disposal at Old Trafford and that the arrival of Portugal midfielder Fernandes would give him options to tweak his tactics.

    Solskjaer confirmed the 25-year-old would go straight into the squad against Wolves after he completed his move from Sporting Lisbon for an initial 55 million euros ($61 million, £46 million) on Thursday. “We’re just happy to finally get it over the line. We followed him for years and he has grown in that period,” said the United boss. – Fernandes ‘a winner’ – “He is more mature, a great leader of his team and even with all the speculation that has been around him from every club in Europe linked with him, he stayed focused and played some fantastic football for Sporting Lisbon.”

    Solskjaer is expecting Fernandes to provide leadership in a squad that has been accused of lacking strong voices on the pitch. “That is one of the boxes we had to tick,” said the manager. “We want players who this means a lot to, and he’s a winner, he hates losing. “I have seen it myself but he uses that anger in a good way, to play better and help his teammates. “He was a fantastic captain for Sporting Lisbon and he was a leader and he is going to come here and be a great leader.”

    Some fans are planning to walk out in the 68th minute of Saturday’s match at Old Trafford in protest at how the club is being run by the Glazer family and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward. The atmosphere at Old Trafford has turned toxic in recent weeks, with supporters voicing their anger at the club hierarchy and police this week launched an investigation into an attack on the home of Woodward. “For me, the fans have been backing us and I am sure they’ll back the team again,” said Solskjaer. “They’re important for us and this is an important game for us.”