Soccer

Solskjaer keeping positive amid intense pressure of United

Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial all out of clash with Arsenal

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer leaves the pitch after the Carabao Cup victory over Rochdale. Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Jamie Jackson
Fri Sep 27 2019 - 14:39

The incessant scrutiny and pressure? That is Manchester United’s “rightful place”, says a bullish Ole Gunnar Solskjær as he prepares for Arsenal’s visit to Old Trafford on Monday.

Results may be flatlining, performances diffident and the team possibly without Paul Pogba, yet Solskjær breezily contemplates all this after a few days in which United lost at West Ham and scraped past League One Rochdale via penalties in the Carabao Cup.

“I don’t worry what the press write about other teams or me and Man United,” the manager says. “We are focused on what we have to do: to keep improving. Reading the papers doesn’t change my view. Sometimes my kids are asking: ‘What’s this [criticism] all about?’

“When I was a player it was always Man Utd hogging the headlines. We wouldn’t want to scramble through the newspapers to see if things [might] have been written about us. That’s our rightful place [before the glare]. When we lose a game or go through difficult period we must keep our eyes on the prize and keep working in the direction we believe.”

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Solskjær has walked into his regular Friday media briefing with a smile that remains throughout. The 46-year-old is, indeed, discovering how the United spotlight allows no escape. One bookmaker has him at 6-1 to be sacked next – “by Tuesday night” (second behind Everton’s Marco Silva) – and, if some of the punditry and reporting is as feverish, Solskjær is calm enough to offer the following assessment.

“I never said it was going be easy this season. There are going to be ups and downs, highs and lows. And when we lose a game we have to trust ourselves and what we’re doing, [keep our] eyes on the prize and keep the principles we believe in.

“Any game in the Premier League is winnable but also losable. It’s margins, fine margins and sometimes you stand there smiling happy to have won a game, sometimes angry because you’ve lost. You’ve got to portray the right image.”

Since the 4-0 win over Chelsea on the opening day United have scored only four league goals in five games and since Solskjær was made permanent manager at the end of March they have 17 goals in 18 matches in all competitions.

Combined with some insipid displays – the one at West Ham was akin to the dullest under José Mourinho and Louis van Gaal – and a perfect storm for criticism has been created.

Manchester United’s Paul Pogba aggravated an ankle injury during the Carabao Cup win over Rochdale. Photo: Alex Livesy/Getty Images

Yet Solskjær says those supporters he meets offer a different take. “They are very, very positive and [say]: ‘We can see what you’re doing – keep going,’” he says, before illustrating an awareness of the vagaries of Twitter and other platforms. “It’s easy to be positive when you meet someone face to face, it’s easy to hide behind social media when negative. I’ve been amazed again by our supporters, to listen to the crowd at Old Trafford – they’re amazing, keep supporting us. We are going through a leaner patch trophy-wise and the results of the last few games.”

Of the lack of goals Solskjær, whose side have conceded seven times in eight matches this season, says: “You can see how much we’ve improved defensively; that’s where we put the big money in [buying] Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire. We don’t concede many chances [though we] concede too many goals to chances.

“The other way – going forward – is where we’ve struggled with injuries: Paul [Pogba], Anthony [Martial], Marcus [Rashford]. We’ve had some bad luck in that respect. It’s about building relationships, so it doesn’t help when you lose players. These boys need to get the pattern of play and if you’re half a second earlier with your movement it makes all the difference.

“Sometimes finishing could be better, can be frustrating, but that’s [also] down to outstanding keepers.”

Pogba’s ankle knock has left him in a “race” to face Arsenal and Martial and Rashford are out, along with five other frontline players.

Solskjær is not seeking an excuse, though. “That’s part of the game,” he says, then offers an assessment of where United are. “Improving, evolving, young. The culture is there. We see them every single day in training and there is no issue with work rate, desire. Now can we trust ourselves?”

The next test comes on Monday, under the lights, before a packed Old Trafford. – Guardian