© Action Images via Reuters
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Manchester United have sacked coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The club announced this the day after the heavy 4-1 defeat on the field of Watford. Ex-player Michael Carrick takes over as coach for the time being, Manchester United say it is looking for an “interim trainer” for the rest of the season.
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Wim Conings
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The club’s board called an emergency meeting after the 4-1 defeat against Watford. CEO Joel Glazer finally took the plunge and decided that Solskjaer had to be evicted. The club will pay him a severance payment of £7.75 million. Leicester coach Brendan Rodgers currently seems to be the biggest candidate to succeed Solskjaer, although Erik ten Hag (Ajax) and Zinedine Zidane were also mentioned earlier.
“Ole will always be a legend at Manchester United and it is with regret that we have come to this difficult decision,” United said. “While the last few weeks have been disappointing, they cannot hide how much work he has put in over the past three years to lay the foundation for long-term success. Ole leaves with our sincere thanks for his tireless efforts as a manager and our very best wishes for the future. His place in the history of the club will always be assured, not only as a player, but also as a great man and coach who has given us many great moments. He will forever be welcome at Old Trafford as part of the Manchester United family.”
Exit after three years as head coach
The 48-year-old Norwegian was head coach at Manchester United for almost three years, where he succeeded Portuguese Jose Mourinho in December 2018. Solskjaer was initially an interim trainer but was able to convince the board for a permanent contract. Under Solskjaer’s leadership, Manchester United finished sixth, third and second in the Premier League in succession. The club did not win a prize under the guidance of the former striker. Solskjaer played football for United for a long time (1996-2007) and ended his career there. Afterwards he gained coaching experience with the promises of the English top club, Molde FK in his home country and for a short time Cardiff City.
United started the season well, but the top club has been in free fall lately. The team from Manchester has therefore dropped to seventh place, twelve points behind leaders Chelsea. On Saturday, Solskjaer had apologized to fans for the defeat at Watford. “We are ashamed of the way we are losing here,” he said at the time. “Sometimes you just have to dare to say ‘sorry’. The fans always support our players, whoever is on the pitch. We know we’re having a bad run, but that’s football,” Solskjaer said. Earlier this season, his fate seemed sealed after a 0-5 loss against Liverpool, but then the board still expressed its confidence in the Norwegian ex-striker.
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