Solskjaer vows to overcome latest Man United crisis: ´I´ll always give it a good shot and fight back

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer vowed to try to fight back from another crisis with the club still reeling from their 5-0 loss to Liverpool.

Solskjaer’s future has been the subject of intense speculation following their humiliating defeat to Jurgen Klopp’s men at Old Trafford last Sunday.

Senior United officials were said to have held a meeting on Monday in the wake of the Liverpool loss, with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward joined by managing director Richard Arnold and co-chairman Joel Glazer.

But Solskjaer remains at the helm as United look to bounce back in the Premier League against Tottenham on Saturday.

And the Norwegian is ready to ensure his players produce the right response.

He told a media conference: “It’s been a difficult week, of course, we’ve had to deal with the result and performance against Liverpool, which we know wasn’t good enough and that’s something that footballers have to deal with, that’s why we’re in this game, you have to look forward to the next game, make sure you’re ready.

“And when you get to that next game sort it out and challenge the problems. We’ve had a good week on the training field.

“We definitely need a reaction and it’s my job as well to put the players in the right frame of mind. I’m responsible for the reaction, the result, the performance.

“We’ve worked on the pitch, worked on everything that needs to be sorted for a footballer. It’s not just frame of mind, it’s the approach strategy, gameplan, tactics, technically, we’ve had a good week and I feel the boys are ready to give their best as they always do.

“The performance, nothing went to plan and that was nowhere near our best.

“I’ve been through some very bad moments as a player here and when I’ve been a manager. I’ve dealt with setbacks, there have been two or three crises at least since I became manager here and one thing I can say is I’ll always give it a good shot and fight back.”

Memorable moments from Spurs away #MUFC | #TOTMUN pic.twitter.com/r3ZG2cT1rn

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 29, 2021

Solskjaer will have defender Raphael Varane and forward Anthony Martial available for the clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with both having regained fitness.

And Solskjaer indicated he wants his side to take inspiration from WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury to avoid the kind of disorganised performance they produced in the rout by Liverpool.

“Of course, you have to hold hands up and that performance is not acceptable, and we have to look at why it was not acceptable and why it went as it did,” he added. 

“I use the analogy: it felt like we were a boxer being punch drunk, knocked down in the first four minutes or in the first round. We had a chance, we conceded a goal, we wanted to sort it out, and went a bit too open and too frantic against a good team.

“You see Tyson Fury when he gets knocked down a couple of times, it’s remarkable how calm and composed he is on the floor, counts to six, seven, eight and he gets up and goes again.

“We got up too early and tried to sort it. Minds have to be better but we’ve had to look at different things as well, the communication has to be direct.”