Former Liverpool, Manchester City and Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann says Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been unable to improve the team’s fortunes and believes he’ll be dismissed from his post sooner rather than later.
The Norwegian only signed a new contract with the club in July but has been criticised for poor performances and in-game management from the team this term, despite a big summer outlay to bring in Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane.
Hamann says that the only reason United remain in contention near the top is the goalscoring form of the Portuguese forward Ronaldo, who has five in five starts across Premier League and Champions League - but was left out of the line-up in the weekend draw with Everton.
“The one and only reason why Manchester United are still in the title race and doing alright in the Champions League is Cristiano Ronaldo,” Hamann told Sky Sports.
“I don’t know where they would be without him or his goals. It is all patchwork. Old Trafford, that used to be the Theatre of Dreams, now it is more like the Theatre of Nightmares. Their performances are pathetic. At the moment, they just don’t play good football. Jadon Sancho is way behind expectations, which I don’t understand. With Varane they got a player with great experience and in Ronaldo they got one who knows the Premier League and I didn’t think it would take long to integrate him into the team.
“Now I believe the pressure on the manager will grow a lot. I believe it is a matter of when – not if – they sack him, because he has been there too long for you not to see any progression.
“They still play the same football which is not good to watch. That is not Manchester United. I think there will be a change of manager soon. Whether the new manager will be able to utilise their potential, we will have to see. But Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not capable of that right now.”
Former United player Gary Neville has already suggested that Solskjaer’s team do not play well enough to win the title this season, while Solskjaer himself accepted the pressure that comes with the job and reiterated his intention to pick up silverware.
United have won just one of their last four in all competitions heading into the international break.
