Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spent three years at Manchester United between 2018 and 2021. The Norwegian was sacked after losing 3-o to Watford.
Despite finishing second and third in the Premier League, he failed to win a major trophy at Manchester United. He lost the Europa League finals to Villareal on penalties.
Solskjaer has revealed that finishing second and third in the Premier League was a significant achievement considering the squad he had at that time. He also slammed the attitude of his playing, claiming they had stopped running and caring.
What did Ole Gunnar Solskjaer say?
In an interview with The Nationals, he said, “There were many lows. I’m one of them who looks back at the lows more than the highs.
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“The end at Watford, well you can’t get lower than that. I more or less knew at half time, so my team talk was about enjoying the last 45 minutes together and giving their all.
“Some of them had stopped running, caring. But then in the second half we played well. Donny [Van de Beek] came on and scored.
“We should have scored more. Then we got a sending off. 2-1 until the 94th minute.
“It sounds really bad that it was a 4-1 defeat. It was bad to lose against Watford but it wasn’t a 4-1 game.”
Asked how he feels on the sideline when his team is losing, he replied: “It’s the loneliest place in the world, it’s horrible.
“You want to sit down. You’re 3-0 down but you’re a bit embarrassed but you have to stand up and never give up. You have to stand up and show that this is your team, you’ve picked the team. And I’ve never shied from that responsibility.
“I didn’t win a trophy at United and I know that matters. I was a penalty kick away from winning one against Villarreal [in the 2021 Europa League final].
“But I fulfilled my initial remit at United. Got people smiling again. Get the team winning. Lay down the foundations for good performances against all teams. And I did that.
“We were unbeaten away from home for 29 games. It’s not easy to do that. We went to places like Manchester City and beat them. We didn’t win the league but, trust me, to finish second and third with the squad I had was an achievement.”
Quizzed about Manchester City’s playing style, he continued: “City are always interesting to watch.
“It’s not my cup of tea in terms of how many penetrating passes they turn down when they go forward, but they win. And Erling [Haaland] will score more often if they play him, but they might lose the ball more often.”
