Although it appears to be a foregone conclusion that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be sacked at some point by Manchester United, there are reasons to believe that he might actually see out the season at Old Trafford.
A number of candidates have been linked with taking over from the Norwegian, but how realistic are their chances of being the next to take a seat in the dugout?
Antonio Conte
Available and apparently the favourite to replace Solskjaer, however, as CaughtOffside understand, there is concern over Conte’s integrity.
Having just led Inter to their first Serie A title in a decade and taken Chelsea to the Premier League title, there’s no doubting the Italian’s credentials.
Rumours of taking back-handers whilst in charge of the Blues almost certainly rule him out however.
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Brendan Rodgers
Another manager who could clearly improve results and performances, though whether he’d be welcomed by the Old Trafford faithful due to his allegiance to Liverpool is negligible.
Notwithstanding that, why would Rodgers leave Leicester City?
They are stable on and off the pitch, have owners who are absolutely invested in doing the best for the club, and a team who will run through walls for each other.
What’s more, as with his time at the Reds and Celtic, Rodgers has given the Foxes an identity.
There’s simply no need for him to talk out on that into a cauldron of hate at the Theatre of Dreams.
Zinedine Zidane
The Frenchman, like Conte, is available, but has already ruled out taking the helm at United according to Mundo Deportivo.
Zidane certainly has the gravitas to command instant respect from the dressing room, though is untested in England so wouldn’t necessarily make sense at this juncture in any event.
Enjoying his sabbatical, it appears that only the Paris Saint-Germain or French national team jobs could tempt him out of his self-imposed retirement.
Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher
Although there’s some sense in having continuity, the fact that the pair have formed part of Solskjaer’s backroom staff makes their potential candidacies a non-starter.
United can’t fall into the trap of bringing more ex-players into the firing line because a fresh approach is very definitely required.
One would have to question exactly what work Carrick and Fletcher do on the training pitch, if Sunday’s performance is anything to go by.