Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and other Man Utd icons’ stance on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sack

The past few weeks have been quite a crash-course in top-flight management for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

A dismal 2-0 defeat to Manchester City at the weekend followed the 5-0 thumping to Liverpool as the Manchester United boss has found himself under intense pressure and firmly in the firing line.

A United cult hero as a player, Solskjaer has discovered that the step up into management is a perilous one, fraught with relentless scrutiny and criticism, including from former friends and teammates.

While Solskjaer finds himself defiantly battling to retain his position, many of those who played alongside him during his trophy-laden 11 years under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford are currently treading a different path into punditry.

It has become their job to comment and critique on the club and their former colleague, and with United in crisis, some haven’t held back.

With Solskjaer seemingly on the brink, let’s take a closer look at what the Norwegian’s former players have been saying about him recently.

Gary Neville

The former right back was an ever-present for all of Solskjaer’s United career and has received much backlash from fans in recent weeks after admitting that he wouldn’t call out the Norwegian as he considers him a “mate”.

Neville has staunchly stuck by the United manager and believes the club will keep him in charge until at least the end of the season.

Although he questioned the progress under previous big-named managerial appointments at United, the Sky Sports pundit did acknowledge that there are better managers around than Solskjaer.

“I thought Jose Mourinho was a better manager than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, I thought Louis Van Gaal was, David Moyes was.

“They’ve all had better pedigrees than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, however, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has finished second in the league and has gained position so there’s no science to that question.

“There are better managers, of course, there are better managers in terms of credentials and on paper but the confusion that exists at this club at this moment in time is they’ve gone for two managers previously that have world-class credentials and that shouldn’t stop them doing it again.

“I think that’s where the confusion or the hesitancy comes from the board that they’ve been down this route of bringing in a Mourinho before so they wouldn’t bring in a Conte cause they’d be burnt by that.”

Paul Scholes

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The former England midfielder was another who was at United for all 11 of Solskjaer’s playing years in Manchester.

While not explicitly calling for Solskjaer’s managerial head, Scholes hasn’t held back in his criticism of United’s under-fire boss, most recently expressing his concerns at United’s lack of direction under Solskjaer in his third full season in charge.

“The conviction has to come from the coach of the way you’re going to play football,” said the 46-year-old. “Ole has been here three years now and we’ve come here today not really knowing what he’s going to do.

“That makes the recruitment almost impossible because you’re not buying players for a system.

Scholes added: “Three years down the line you can see the evidence on the pitch, today and two weeks ago we are a long way off.

“I do think we’ve got a group of good players but Ole has to convince everyone that he is the right man to find the right formation for this team.

“Stop messing about changing it for everyone else. He’s got to now have a conviction, whatever it is I don’t care just have that conviction.”

Roy Keane

The ex-United captain is perhaps the most outspoken of Solskjaer’s former teammates, having established a reputation as one of the most straight-talking pundits in the game.

In his latest explosive rant, Keane expressed his admiration for Solskjaer as a person but laid into his former colleague, suggesting the Norwegian’s days are numbered with it not working out at United.

“You have to draw the line now. It’s not quite happening,” Keane blasted. “Ole is a brilliant guy and an honest guy but management is about survival and he’s got to get a result in the next game.

“A coach or a manager can’t give a player courage. I have to remind myself it’s hard out there but they shouldn’t be 11 points behind [league leaders] Chelsea.”

“I think Ole will be under more pressure than the Liverpool game,” the Irishman lamented. “The way they lost, it’s a derby game.”

Rio Ferdinand

After joining United in 2002, Ferdinand played alongside Solskjaer for the final five years of his career before the Norwegian decided to hang up his boots.

The man who famously spouted “Ole’s at the wheel” and called for United to let Solskjaer “write whatever numbers he wants” on a contract before he was confirmed as the permanent manager of the Red Devils, Ferdinand had previously been reluctant to call for his ex-teammate’s head.

However, following a disastrous few weeks, the former centre back has made a U-turn and now believes the time has come for a change at the Untied helm.

“He’s done actually what he’s been brought in to do,” Ferdinand told his FIVE YouTube channel of Solskjaer. “He’s come in and given the fans hope again, made the fans want to come back and watch your team again.

“He’s done that. He has done a great job in that sense. But is he going to take us to win titles? Is he going to make us challenge to win a Champions League?

“The football club will be living here and breathing here longer than any individual. It’s what’s best for this football club.

“I just feel that maybe it might be time now for the baton to be handed over. Who can take us on now? And I think Ole would leave now with his head held high.”

Peter Schmeichel

Ferdinand’s recent stance is a stark contrast to that of former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, who spent three years with Solskjaer at United before departing for Sporting Lisbon after the Red Devils clinched the treble.

Schmeichel, who famously celebrated Solskjaer’s last-minute Champions League winner in 1999 by cartwheeling across the pitch, questioned who is really in charge at United but called for his former teammate to be given more time at the club.

“It’s [unbalanced wage bill] one of Ole’s problems. He is still cleaning up. Players who shouldn’t be there on long contracts and high wages,” Schmeichel told The Times last month.

“Sometimes you wonder who is doing what with Ole and the coaches. Who is the real boss? Who decides? When he is interviewed pre-match, he says: ‘We put this team out, we decided.’ I think: ‘You are the boss.’

“The problem Ole has is that in this world of quick fixes and fast news he has to win yesterday. It has to be delivered now. But it’s not the real world. We stopped that development for a period and our competitors closed the gap then ran away.

“We have to catch them but I believe — in the way we have done in the biggest periods with Sir Matt [Busby] and with Sir Alex — that if you build and take time then you get it right for a very long time. That’s what I meant with that line about heart and soul.

“Liverpool, how long did it take them to get it right? Only when they found a manager who understood the club. Ole is there now and I hope he stays. But if there is a change in the next couple of years, I hope the club really does the due diligence.”

Mikael Silvestre

The former French defender linked up with United’s current boss at Old Trafford after joining from Inter Milan in 1999, shortly after Solskjaer helped fire the Red Devils to a historic treble.

Speaking ahead of last weekend’s Manchester derby, Silvestre expressed his confidence in Solskjaer and claimed the former striker would ride out these dark days with the backing of the club’s hierarchy.

“The team won’t suffer another heavy defeat [like they did against Liverpool],” Silvestre told MyBettingSites.co.uk.

“They will put on a fight, especially at home, for the supporters. Ole’s job is safe because he’s got enough credit and the players responded at Spurs.

“They picked up a point away from home against Atalanta, they are a decent team. United are still leading the Champions League group, so it’s a good response after the 5-0 defeat.

“At the moment Ole needs more time because we’re only at the beginning of November and players joined late in the window. He needs time to find the right balance with the new players, it’s not easy. Nine times out of 10, changing the manager is not the answer.

“The target is to win trophies, so you need to be in the race in March and April. That gives him a lot of time to improve the team.”