Stan Collymore has discussed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s position at Manchester United and made arguably quite a surprise claim.
Despite a dire start to the season, Solskjaer may well be safe until late on in the season for a variety of reasons, according to former Premier League star Collymore, writing in his column in the Daily Mirror.
While the Norwegian tactician could undoubtedly do with easing the pressure on himself and fighting away negative headlines by picking up more points soon, Collymore feels United chief Ed Woodward might not be keen on overseeing another sacking already as it paints him in a negative light for continuing to pick the wrong manager.
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On top of that, Collymore argues that MUFC are unlikely to get the replacement they want in the middle of the season, naming Mauricio Pochettino as that man, and writing off potential interest in former Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri, suggesting they’d instead go for a caretaker appointment in the Guus Hiddink mould.
“I’m really not sure why people think Woodward will be moving to replace the Norwegian any time soon, even on the back of another testing week that saw them given a scare by Rochdale and lose at West Ham,” Collymore said.
“And I’m adamant that, barring a capitulation of epic proportions, the United goal-scoring legend will still be in situ come the end of the season. Woodward is a smart man, and he’ll be well aware that the club is a work in progress.
“Perhaps more pertinently, he’ll also be aware that sacking Solskjaer now really wouldn’t reflect well on him.
“He’d look like the idiot who can’t get the right person in.”
He added: “It’s not like they will get Mauricio Pochettino mid-season, whatever is going on between him and Tottenham, and how many other great managers are there looking for work?
“We are not going to see Mourinho returning to the club he left last December, and Max Allegri’s name has been on no one’s lips because United want a more youthful approach.”
It remains to be seen how all this would go down with United fans, who will surely feel now that a more established name is needed in the dugout as this experiment with an inexperienced club legend seems to be failing.