Scott McTominay has thrown his support behind Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after Manchester United’s difficult start to the season and insists the players still ‘believe every word’ the manager says in the dressing room.
The Red Devils bounced back well after a miserable 3-1 loss at home to Crystal Palace in their opening match of the Premier League season and went on to win their next three matches in all competitions.
But a wave of heavy criticism was aimed at Solskjaer and United in the wake of their humiliating 6-1 defeat to Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham and the Norwegian admitted it was the ‘worst day’ of his career to date.
Solskjaer will have been desperate to put the match behind him as quickly as possible but the international break immediately followed and the 47-year-old will will have been mulling over every decision he made at Old Trafford over the last week and a half.
However, it appears United’s head coach still has the full backing of his squad, with Norwegian outlet TV2 revealing some telling comments McTominay made following the thumping defeat to Spurs.
‘The whole club is behind him,’ the Scotland midfielder said.
‘We believe in every word he says, and it’s not just him.
‘We trust every word from Mike Phelan, Kieran McKenna, Michael Carrick and the entire support staff.’
United have reportedly opened talks with Maurcio Pochettino following their concerning start to the new campaign under Solskjaer.
The 48-year-old Argentine, heavily linked with the position prior to Solskjaer’s permanent appointment, has been out of a job since his dismissal at Tottenham last November.
Sir Alex Ferguson is known to be an admirer of Pochettino and Dimitar Berbatov believes the Red Devils may be forced to consider Solskjaer’s future if their poor results continue.
However, the Bulgarian has warned that Pochettino could just be the latest in a long line of ‘saviours’ doomed to failure at the Theatre of Dreams.
‘Ole Gunner Solskjaer has taken some criticism recently, I can understand why the odds say he is the most likely manager to leave his post, especially if they continue down this road,’ Berbatov told Betfair earlier this month.
‘The pressure on him will only continue to grow, and if they continue to fail to win points, the point will likely come where action is taken. I believe he is still fine for the job personally, and we will have to see.
‘To me, it is amazing that Mauricio Pochettino is available for this job, one of football’s finest coaches in my opinion.
‘Pochettino may be “the man”, but at some stage, they were all “the man”- [David] Moyes, [Louis] van Gaal, Mourinho, all were the next saviour at one stage.
‘For United fans, I would say that every single person connected to the team in any way are all suffering. The ones that will express their feelings the loudest will be the fans, and I can understand this.
‘United are led by people who want success for the club, and the glory days will return, of that there is no doubt- just when that is, is the question.’
