It was confirmed early on Sunday by Manchester United that they had decided to relieve manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer of his duties with immediate effect, after close to 3 years of managing the Red Devils.
This news came hot on the heels of the heavy loss the team suffered on Saturday at the hands of Claudio Ranieri’s lowly Watford side, who beat the Old Trafford side 4-1 at Vicarage Road.
The Norwegian apologized to all those connected to Manchester United after the game, issuing a statement for the media after the loss to say he felt sorry for the fans.
“I always believe in myself. Yes, I believe we can reverse this. I sympathize with the fans. I feel the same as they do. We are ashamed. We are in a very bad condition,”
Many United fans have expressed their surprise that Solksjaer lasted as long as he did. Watford was their fifth defeat in the last seven games, and the team sits 12 points behind league-leaders Chelsea.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had on paper one of the best teams in the Premier League, who in the summer signed Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus, Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund and Raphael Varane from Real Madrid.
Solskjer took over the team in December 2018 after the departure of Jose Mourinho. Three months later, from the position of acting coach, he was promoted to manager, bringing United 14 victories from 19 games.
The following season, Ole’s first in which he led the club from the beginning to the end of the championship, United finished third in the Premier League.
He signed a new three-year contract in July, but he has now paid for his inability to keep the United in competition for the Premier League title.
