Mike Phelan says Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs time to shape his own squad at Manchester United if he is going to bring success back to the club.
Solskjaer inherited a mishmash squad when he returned to Old Trafford 10 months ago and since then he has let seven senior players leave, bringing in three of his own.
However, Phelan knows it will take a lot more than three signings to get this United squad where it needs to be.
“Ole relates well with the players, he understands what Man United is,” Phelan told The Athletic. “It is definitely a difficult moment, but Ole hasn’t got his team yet. He’s had three players (signed), you need more than three to be the manager of your own team.
“We can build on something, I think. Ole just needs that opportunity to create the culture again."
Phelan attempted to explain why United's form dipped so dramatically towards the end of last season following an initial purple patch under Solskjaer.
United won 14 of their first 17 matches following Solskjaer's interim appointment but would go on to win just twice over the final 12 games of the season.
“We’d taken them from nothing to sky high, but they bottomed out because it was just too much, they weren’t prepared for it,” Phelan added.
