Woodward clears up ‘sacked in the morning’ exchange with Phil Jones
Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has denied telling Phil Jones off after the defender appeared to claim Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was “getting sacked in the morning” on live TV.
In a clip that went viral last month, Jones and Woodward were both filmed sat in the stands at the London Stadium as United slipped to a 2-0 defeat at the London Stadium.
West Ham fans were taunting Solskjaer with a chorus of, ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’.
And the common consensus was that Jones was muttering a similar thing: “Sacked in the Morning.”
Which prompted Woodward to retort: “We are on camera, stop!”
However, Woodward insists he wasn’t addressing Jones in the clip and was actually turning round to ask United’s club secretary Rebecca Britain – sitting next to Jones – about an incident in the game.
“Phil was talking about whether decisions were offside or not,” he explained in an interview with club fanzine United We Stand (via utdreport).
💬 Phil Jones: “Sacked in the Morning”
😠 Ed Woodward: “We are on camera, stop!” pic.twitter.com/LtTESnGb1Y
— TEAMtalk (@TEAMtalk) September 23, 2019
“There was a foul and I turned around to Rebecca Britain, our club secretary [and said] ‘Was that a yellow card on him? Diop?'”
United are currently 14th in the Premier League following Sunday’s improved performance that saw them draw 1-1 with Liverpool, though Woodward has faced many criticisms over his reign with Gary Neville earlier this month claiming he was as accountable as anyone for the club’s current struggles.
Although he has proven to be a divisive figure among many United fans, he insisted he is the right man for the job at Old Trafford.
Speaking the same interview ahead of Sunday’s 1-1 draw with leaders Liverpool , Woodward added: “I understand the scrutiny; it’s part of the job.
“We have to do everything that we possibly can to get back to winning the Premier League.
“We are not successful until we do. Second is not success, we have to win the Premier League.”
“I’m having some important talks behind the scenes, so we will decide if I will work for the club in a certain role or not,” the 38-year-old said on Monday Night Football.
