Solskjaer suggests Pochettino wants Man Utd job; reacts to Matic rumours

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer describes Jose Mourinho’s return to management as a good thing, but insists the availability of Mauricio Pochettino does not make him fear for his own job.

At his pre-match press conference, Solskjaer was inevitably asked about the managerial situation at Tottenham, which has seen his predecessor Mourinho replace a coach frequently linked with United in the past, Pochettino.

“Sorry to disappoint but it’s not going to be about Jose or Mauricio,” Solskjaer said.

“I can start with it’s good to have Jose back definitely, especially for you guys and maybe for me. You can talk and write about everything else. And for Mauricio it’s always sad when one of your colleagues, a good man, loses their job before Christmas. I wish him all the best.

“In football you can never be surprised or shocked, I’ve just got to focus on us.

“It [the idea of Pochettino replacing him] doesn’t bother me at all. I’ve got the best job in the world and if you’re in or out of a job, you want this job.

“So it doesn’t really matter whatever happens around it. I’ve got to focus on my job at Manchester United – do it as well as we can.

“I speak with Ed [Woodward] and the owners all the time about how we move forward and that doesn’t change if others change managers.”

Another member of the United squad whose future may be affected by Mourinho’s appointment at Spurs is Nemanja Matic. The Serbian has been linked with a departure due to his role on the fringes under Solskjaer this season, with his contract expiring in the summer. And the United boss was asked about his future after the midfielder liked an Instagram post linking him with a reunion with Mourinho at Tottenham.

“Jose coming back is going to be a spectacle and a circus, and Nemanja has a sense of humour,” clarified Solskjaer.

With Matic returning to training, another midfielder is set for a spell on the sidelines, with Scott McTominay ruled out – and Solskjaer pointed out how big a blow that was for his side.

“Well, we’ve lost Nemanja for a long period – that’s going to take it’s toll if you take three midfielders out of any top club. But Fred’s stepped up and we’ll have to try to conjure up a way of replacing them.

“Long-term we’re looking at different positions and midfield, yeah, we’ve been looking at. Yeah, there’s always types of players we’re looking at but I’m not going to talk about that now.

“[McTominay has] performed really well, nailed a position down for him, he’s played regularly, he’s been running midfield.”

 

Solskjaer’s side take on Sheffield United on Sunday, with their opponents having already taken points off Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham this season – meaning they are one point ahead of the Old Trafford club in the table.

And if the Blades can beat United, it would mean that the Red Devils would have lost the same number of away games against promoted sides since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club than in the entire time the Scotsman was in charge.

However, Solskjaer is not concerned by the growing gap with the top four.

He said: “It’s a clear gap in the league between top four and I don’t know how many teams within a range of three or four points. It’s about consistency now, we turned a corner we felt performance-wise and results after the last international break, but it’s so tight I’m just looking forward to this game. We need to have a good performance and result.

“We’ve still got to keep looking up the table, of course it’s so close but it is a long gap up to the top four. But we’ve got City next month very soon so we’ve got a chance to get points back. Getting players back better, improving, so hopefully we can challenge it.

“I’ve seen Marcus [Rashford] talk about it. It’s not just about top four but that’s a bit of a goal for us.”