A former Old Trafford favourite is sure that the Norwegian head coach is the right man to take the club forward.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is doing an “amazing job” at Manchester United, in accordance to Peter Schmeichel, who has cautioned his old club in opposition to bringing in “another big-name manager’.
Solskjaer’s first year in permanent charge of the first team at Old Trafford has been a turbulent one, to say the least, however significant signs of development have been shown in recent months.
United embarked on an 11-match unbeaten run before the 2019-20 season was put on hiatus due to the coronavirus crisis, beating arch-rivals Manchester City twice and fellow top-four hopefuls Chelsea along the way.
The addition of Portuguese playmaker Bruno Fernandes in the January transfer window seems to have galvanised the rest of the squad, and a strong end to the season should see the Red Devils re-emerge as one of the elite sides in the Premier League.
Solskjaer’s men are solely three points adrift of the final Champions League spot, and have one foot in the Europa League quarter-finals after thrashing LASK 5-0 in a last-16 first-leg clash in Austria on March 12.
United additionally have a last-four tie against Norwich to look forward to in the FA Cup, with pressure finally beginning to ease on Solskjaer after an inconsistent run of results over the first half of the campaign.
Ex-Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino was amongst those being linked with the Norwegian’s role at the back end of last year, however Schmeichel sees no cause why the Red Devils must make a change in the dugout after a hugely encouraging period.
“I think Ole has been really fantastic,” the ex-United goalkeeper stated at some stage in an Instagram Q&A.
“Fingers crossed that everyone in the boardroom and the ownership circle see the same thing, that they’re completely happy with what got and do not see the need to change to yet another big-name manager.
“We have a big-name manager. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is one of the biggest names in Manchester United’s history, so we do not want anybody else.
“Ole had them going really well. It was eleven games undefeated, before everything was closed down. It was a huge shame, because the job that Ole’s done, it actually is an amazing job.”
Schmeichel went on to express his faith that Solskjaer inherited a squad which needed a major overhaul, insisting he has had to be patient whilst making the proper moves in the transfer market in order to effect massive change.
“I do not think he was given the fantastic squad of players to do exactly what he wanted to do,” the United legend added. “He realised very shortly it was going to take time and he spent that time wisely.
“The players he knew for certain that had to go, I think most of them have gone. I think the players he added in have been good, in the sense of what he wanted to do.
“So I’m actually looking at United being very successful this season, with the introduction of new players and nevertheless in touching distance of Champions League qualification.”
