Paul McGrath slammed Manchester United players for their recent displays in defeats while defending Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to some degree.
Manchester United’s struggles eased a bit after their terrific win over Tottenham in north London. The result gave Ole Gunnar Solskjaer some reprieve after he had been tipped to be sacked following their unforgettable defeat to Liverpool at Old Trafford.
The Manchester United board, in an emergency meeting in the aftermath of the Liverpool game, decided to give Solskjaer at least a reported two-three games to save his job. One of those he has already won against Spurs, although the other next two are a bit trickier, especially the clash at Old Trafford against Manchester City.
The pressure remains on Solskjaer with the upcoming games set to be crucial for him and the club’s season. However, as club legend Wayne Rooney suggested, the players also need to take some responsibility after a dismal showing during those defeats.
In his column in the SundayWorld, Paul McGrath also took aim at the Manchester United stars. He suggested that the players went into hiding, and Solskjaer had to take all the blame for how they performed.
The ex-Manchester United star wrote, “While I expected Liverpool to beat United at Old Trafford last weekend, the manner of their win and the abject display put in by Ole Gunnar Soskjaer’s players shocked me. When a United team lose against Liverpool in that manner, it is unacceptable, and the last week has been all about whether Ole should survive as manager, but it should be more than that.
“Footballers should have professional pride in their performance, and when you are playing for Manchester United, you have to raise your game when you are playing Liverpool. What we saw last Sunday was a team not putting in the required and expected effort, and that was unacceptable.
“The manager will always get blamed for a big defeat, but I looked at the United team last weekend and saw too many of them hiding. The next game against Atalanta in the Champions League will be significant but not as much as Manchester City’s visit to Old Trafford on Saturday. If things are to go out of hand again as against Liverpool, Solskjaer might be in troubled waters, probably at odds for the sack as manager.”
