Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not worried by speculation about his future and insists he is the man to lead the club away from the treacherous waters it currently finds itself in.
United have failed to win any of their opening four Premier League games and have lost their last two games in all competitions.
Reports have been rife that Mauricio Pochettino and Julian Nagelsmann have been lined up as possible replacements for Solskjaer but the Norwegian is not losing any sleep.
Solskjaer was bullish during a press conference on Friday (November 6) and stated categorically that he has no reason not to be confident in his own strengths.
“Why shouldn’t I be?” he said in the presser.
“If I don’t trust my beliefs and values and my staff’s quality and players’ quality, who else should? I don’t look at one or two results and fall like a house of cards.
“I think there’s been too much made of, say, not scoring against Arsenal and Chelsea because there was more or less nothing in those two games and it’s not long ago we were the best things since sliced bread when we beat RB Leipzig and PSG.
“There’s ups and downs in football and you have to have belief in yourself and the players the club has been very positive and they’ve shown strong character and leadership.
“I’ve always had a very good, open, honest, positive dialogue with the club and they’ve shown strong leadership. I don’t expect the wind to turn. Of course, there is always pressure and expectations on us, but I’ve grown up here or became a man at Manchester United and learned how to deal with good and bad times.”
Solskjaer believes the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, including matches being held behind closed doors, is not helping players when it comes to recovering from defeat.
“Every game lives its own life and it’s fine margins,” he said. “Results create the headlines and the backdrop and in games that you win at times you’re praised and ‘that was a fantastic performance’ and sometimes you lose, and you’re criticised and it’s not that black and white.
“No-one has been in the situation the players are in now. They’ve had months and months of playing with the uncertainty of the virus and the pandemic and sometimes it’s easy to sit at home and think football is the same. We have to look after them, both physically and mentally, and these are things I think about a lot.
“I’m a definite believer in these boys and they will come back and show that they care.
“You have to be mentally strong, of course, there are demands on a Man United player and coach and manager and an expectation because we’re at the best and biggest club in the world and you don’t expect to have anything but criticism. It’s how you deal with that setback and the boys have been very focused since we came back and ready to give a response.
“You don’t have to be happy to stay positive. You know that, on difficult days, in life, there will be better ones coming and I know these players well enough and I trust them enough to have a response, going out there enjoying wearing the shirt and playing a good team, which is always another personal pride as well.”
