Gary Neville has insisted Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs to be given time to turn things around at Manchester United.
Solskjaer arrived at United midway through last season, replacing Jose Mourinho when the Portuguese manager’s situation hit a point of no return.
The Norwegian enjoyed a flying start to life at the club, so much so they elected to hand him the job full-time at the end of March.
Manchester United’s form has been patchy at best since then, and they’ve started this season in middling form, picking up five points from their first four games.
That has seen some corners suggest Solskjaer is not the right man to lead the rebuild, but Neville is backing his former teammate, saying he needs time after inheriting other manager’s squads.
“He should get the transfer window in January, into the summer and next season,” he told TV2.
“Then there has to be a progression, you have to see improvement, but look at Jürgen Klopp. It took four years before he won anything, but it started to get better after 12 months.
“It is a young team, and I as a Manchester United supporter believe he should get this and next season.
“Give him three to four transfer windows to clean up the trash in the dressing room, because there is trash in there. You have to weed out the weeds, and that’s not his fault.
“He has to create his winning team, but it takes time. Liverpool have gone 30 years without winning the Premier League, so it’s not that fantastic anywhere. This will take time.”
Solskjaer is Manchester United’s fourth permanent manager in six years following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.
The club have lurched from one idea to the next since Ferguson left, with David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho all bringing very distinct approaches and styles to the role.
It’s left United with a squad made up of a mismatch of players from various regimes, struggling to form an identity they can all push behind.
This summer saw Solskjaer target the future with signings such as Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James, and Neville believes that is precisely the strategy they should have moving forward.
“I want Ole to have the chance because Manchester United have tried everything now,” he added.
“They have had a solid Premier League manager with eight years in Everton, a technical and tactical manager in van Gaal and a serial winner in Mourinho.
“Now, they are back to someone who knows the club’s values and wants young players with potential and hunger.
“Ole is trying to get the club to where it belongs instead of bringing in players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Radamel Falcao, Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Marcos Rojo, who have all disappeared again.
“They have to sign players for five to ten years and build a foundation, as Manchester City did and have done with Sergio Agüero, David Silva, Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta, Kevin De Bruyne and Fernandinho.”
Thanks to @RonnyS0L for the heads up.
