Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has given the ‘best possible audition’ to land Manchester United job, says Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker says Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has given the best possible audition to land the Manchester United job on a permanent basis but believes the club must wait until the summer before making their decision.Interim boss Solskjaer has won nine of his 10 games in charge since Jose Mourinhos sacking in December, giving the Red Devils renewed hope of qualifying for next years Champions League.
4BT Sport presenter Gary Lineker spoke exclusively to talkSPORT this weekEd Woodward, executive vice-chairman at Old Trafford, insists the club will not rush into an appointment, with several former players, including Gary Neville and John O’Shea, backing Solskjaer for the position.United face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and former Tottenham striker Lineker says progression to the last eight in Europes most prestigious competition will give Solskjaer a huge chance of earning the job for keeps.But at the same time he feels the Norwegian could be just a few games away from losing a grasp on the coveted position should United endure a sticky patch of form.Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, the BT Sport presenter said: Hes doing the best possible audition you could ever do the transformation has been remarkable.Hes lifted the club for sure; hes a likeable character who has good energy about him.With that said I dont see why they need to rush (in making an appointment).
4Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been a revelation since taking over as United’s interim boss“We all know how quickly things turn in football.If they lost three or four games on the bounce then all of a sudden people would be questioning him.The board will take their time and therell be a shortlist of three or four, but hes obviously in a prime position as things stand.Former Red Devils midfielder Paul Ince sparked controversy after suggesting on BT Sports Saturday Morning Savage that anyone could have done the job the Norwegian has done.I think I could have gone in at the time,” he said.
4The Norweigan has won nine out of his ten opening matches in chargeThey needed someone to rest the ship, I think I could have done that.Brucie (Steve Bruce) could have done it, Mark Hughes could have, too.Ince, 51, who was last in charge of Blackpool in 2014, stood by his comments in a column published last Sunday by BBC Sport.While Lineker refuted the claims Ince could have performed as well as Solskjaer, he did understand where the former was coming from.He added: I get Paul Inces point. I think its been taken a bit too literally.He was saying that he felt Mark Hughes, Steve Bruce and himself would have been able to go in there and steady the ship, and they may well have.However, what you cant say is that any of those three would have done as well as Ole which I suspect they wouldnt have.
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4Former United midfielder Paul Ince claimed ‘anyone’ could have done the job Solskjaer hasUnited have gone on a remarkable run of form under Solskjaer and now look realistic top four contenders they had no hope previously.”He added: What Paul was trying to articulate, which I agree with, is that you could have put a scarecrow in that dressing room and there would have been a response.You can take that from the fact nearly all of the squad had clearly lost a little bit of belief under the previous manager.He publicly criticised footballers and that never works in the dressing room, especially in the modern era.Even though players dont go out and purposely dont try, if youre not happy off the pitch then you wont perform as well as you will for someone who believes in you, puts an arm around your shoulder and tells you how good you are. And thats exactly what weve seen under Solskjaer.I think anybody would have gone in there and there’d have been some kind of bounce, but hes done a lot more than that so he deserves enormous credit.Ultimately football is a results business. If he gets them past PSG then obviously his chances will increase hed be in serious contention then.The Red Devils entertain the French giants at Old Trafford on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League clash, with the reverse leg at the Parc des Princes on March 6.
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