Manchester United have parted company with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the club’s chastening 4-1 defeat by Watford.
Solskjaer had promised fans would see a positive reaction from his players at Vicarage Road but the reality couldn’t have been further removed. A dire first-half saw Watford head down the tunnel with a two-goal lead that might have been more. Donny van de Beek came off the bench, much to the joy of the away supporters, and gave United hope of a comeback. However, after Harry Maguire was sent off, Emmanuel Bonaventure and Joao Pedro scored in stoppage time to condemn Solskjaer’s reign to a sour end, which was decided at an emergency board meeting on Saturday night.
Afterwards, David De Gea gave a damning assessment of United’s situation. “The first half was very poor - it’s not acceptable for this club and the level of players that we have. It’s another nightmare. There’s been some difficulties but I don’t really know what to say,” the goalkeeper said. “I have been in difficult moments with this club but we are in a difficult situation - we don’t know what to do with the ball, we are conceding a lot of goals. It’s a horrible moment.”
With Tottenham successfully swooping for Antonio Conte, one of the major candidates to succeed Solskjaer is now off the market, with Michael Carrick stepping up as interim head coach until a permanent replacement can be found.
Here are the favourites to be United’s next permanent manager:
Mauricio Pochettino: 5/2
Brendan Rodgers: 7/2
Michael Carrick: 7/2
Zinedine Zidane: 7/1
Erik ten Hag: 7/1
Ralf Rangnick: 12/1
Laurent Blanc: 14/1
Luis Enrique: 20/1
Diego Simeone: 20/1
Darren Fletcher: 20/1
Julian Nagelsmann: 25/1
Joachim Low: 33/1
Graham Potter: 33/1
Roberto Mancini: 33/1
All odds via Betfair
