Jamie Carragher has reiterated his view that Manchester United need a ‘better manager’ than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in order to compete for the major trophies – a view the Red Devils boss slammed him for this week.
United reached ‘rock bottom’ – the words of their under-fire manager – on Sunday night when they were thrashed 5-0 by arch-rivals Liverpool at home, with Mohamed Salah netting a hat-trick in front of a furious Old Trafford crowd.
The result – which saw Solskjaer’s United go in 4-0 down at the half-time break – has raised questions regarding the Norwegian coach’s future at the club, with Carragher insisting that the Red Devils need a new face in their coaching team.
Solskjaer hit back at Carragher earlier this week following his criticism of him on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, and the Liverpool legend referenced that when discussing the manager’s future after the humiliating defeat.
Jamie Carragher reiterated his view that Manchester United need a better manager than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (pictured)
United were thrashed 5-0 at home to Liverpool on Sunday in a crushing loss for the Red Devils
‘On Monday, I wasn’t actually trying to be critical of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, I actually think he’s done a really good job to this point,’ insisted Carragher. ‘But right at this point now to take on Klopp, Guardiola and Tuchel, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea, they need a better manager.’
He added: ‘I don’t want to get involved in a slanging match, I know Ole said something back and rightly so, he should back his own corner but, this thing about asking for managers to be sacked, I’m not comfortable saying that when it’s ‘sacked’, someone should go, but when we talk about Manchester United as a team, we’re comfortable saying Fred’s not good enough, McTominay’s not good enough and they need a new midfield player, so I don’t feel too bad in terms of saying Manchester United need a better manager.
‘Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not a manager for Manchester United when you want to go to the next level. Now it’s the big boys. And Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will never be Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola or Thomas Tuchel.’
Carragher’s punditry partner, former United defender Gary Neville, argued that United do not need an experienced coach in charge as he was ‘wholly disappointed’ with the Red Devils’ progress under the established Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal.
Carragher insists that Solskjaer is nowhere near the levels of his fellow title-chasing managers
To that argument, Carragher responded: ‘Just because a (type of) manager has failed before doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be looking to get a manager who has a good CV.’
Neville, meanwhile, believes Solskjaer will remain in charge at Old Trafford until the end of the season and the failed stints of Mourinho and Van Gaal will keep him in the Red Devils hotseat.
‘The reason the board will stay stable is because of what happened with Jose Mourinho, with Louis van Gaal,’ Neville said. ‘They won’t bring a hit man in again. He does a job for two years.
‘They will stick with Ole for the season, he needs a trophy at the end of the season. In any other club anywhere, he would be in trouble tonight. But because of what happened with Mourinho and Van Gaal, they are not going to do that now.’
Gary Neville claimed that Solskjaer (above) will be given time until the end of the season
Carragher’s argument that Solskjaer is not the right man for Manchester United right now was made earlier in the week when the former Liverpool defender was presenting Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
‘Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will not win a league title or Champions League trophy as Manchester United manager,’ Carragher said then. ‘He is not at the level of the other managers – in terms of Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel or Pep Guardiola.
‘They’ve got years of experience behind them in terms of winning big trophies. Ole hasn’t got that. Manchester United will only win maybe the FA Cup or the Europa League. If he won one of them, for me, that would make no difference.
‘I wouldn’t be thinking at all about changing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer right now but Manchester United, at the end of the season, whether Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has won a trophy or not, need to have a better manager.
Carragher said on Monday that United need a ‘better manager’ than Solskjaer to win trophies
‘That’s not a criticism of Ole, but they need a manager who can compete with the other managers in this league.
‘And Solskjaer, unfortunately – and he’ll know that himself and every Man United fan will know that themselves – is not at the level of the other [top] managers in the Premier League.’
To that argument, Solskjaer admitted he prefers ‘not to watch’ Carragher’s analysis of him on Sky, claiming earlier this week: ‘No, it doesn’t affect me, but of course you’ve seen some of the comments once in a while.
Solskjaer spoke out against Carragher’s first comments earlier in this testing week for him
‘I didn’t know what he was saying now but of course we got Liverpool on Sunday as well, so Jamie’s always looking at all these little things.
‘I’ve got my values, I’ve got my way of managing, and I believe in myself. As long as the club believes in me, I’m pretty sure that Jamie Carragher’s opinion is not going to change that.’
After United’s 5-0 thrashing at home to Liverpool, which came via Salah’s hat-trick alongside goals from Naby Keita and Diogo Jota, Solskjaer was adamant that he still believes he is the right manager for the Red Devils.
Asked if he has any doubt over his credentials, Solskjaer told Sky Sports on Sunday night: ‘No. I’ve come too far. We have come too far. We are too close to give up now.’