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MANCHESTER – Manchester United executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, remains convinced that Old Trafford boss, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, is the right man to return the Red Devils to its former glory, The Mirror reported yesterday.
Ole, who is under growing pressure with the Premier League club slipping outside of the top four spots, still has the full backing of the board despite having a number of candidates linked with his job, including Antonio Conte, Zinedine Zidane and Leicester City boss, Brendan Rodgers.
Even though the executive vice-chairman is leaving his post at the end of 2021, The Independent reports that his opinion has a strong influence on United’s ultimate decision-maker, Joel Glazer.
According to the report, Man United’s main objective is to qualify for the Champions League, and the board will not look to remove Ole until this is out of the question.
The executive vice-chairman, who found Ole in his office privately planning for the team’s future seasons, likes the fact that the Red Devils’ manager sees himself in the job for the long-term rather than a flash-in-the-pan success.
In their last time out, Manchester United was beaten by Leicester City but Ole called for his players to unite after the match.
“We started well,” Ole said. “Mason [Greenwood] scored a fantastic goal. You look at the spaces we create, and with a bit more care, we’d have got the second one.
“We, more or less, gifted them the equaliser. The second one was a set play, which is disappointing. We get an equaliser, and then concede again ten seconds later. Concentration was a key factor in this game.
“The whole performance was not good enough, with and without the ball. Over the international break, we have had a good look to see what had gone wrong lately.
“We have had too many games where we have lost points, so we need to look at the whole set-up and balance of the team, and maybe something has to give.
“Every point in the Premier League you have to fight for. You have to tackle, block and win headers and, in key moments, we didn't do that enough.
“Every game is a test of character here. Especially now, it is an examination of character, staff, players and everyone around here. We have to stick together for tonight's match.” – Agencies, October 20, 2021