Man Utd scrapped past Wolves in the third round of the FA Cup and lost to Liverpool and Burnley in the Premier League last week to put Ole Gunnar Solskjaer under pressure
22:30, 25 Jan 2020
Beleaguered Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has told his Manchester United players there can be no hiding place today.
The United boss refuses to accept that he lacks leaders in the mould of Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Peter Schmeichel as he prepares for four months that will make or break his Old Trafford reign.
The Reds face a tricky trip to Tranmere in the fourth round of the FA Cup – and must also negotiate a treacherous Prenton Park pitch.
And Solskjaer said: “This is a big game for us. After two defeats we need to go out there and show we can fight and show we are not going to just put our hoodies up and walk away.
“These players like a challenge – and will fly into challenges with the aim of starting a winning run.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has warned there are no hiding places for his Man Utd players(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“To be honest, I have not seen many of my players getting their hoods up, trying to disappear. I can see loads of players that really want this to be a success.
“Of course, they are not going to come out and criticise each other and I am not going to sit here and criticise my players.
“I will do that behind closed doors. We have open discussions there, but we are not going to hang people out to dry.”
Man Utd have lost to Burnley and Liverpool in the past week(Image: REUTERS)
Thirty years ago, Sir Alex Ferguson famously saved his job by beating Crystal Palace in a replay to lift the FA Cup.
But winning the trophy in 2016 was not enough to save Louis van Gaal.
Solskjaer said: “We want to go as far as far as possible. I’d love to go to the final and win it.
“But first we have a game at Prenton Park and with the pitch as it is Tranmere have a chance because the pitch is a leveller. They have all the advantages.
“But – and I mean this with no disrespect – we are Premier League so we should be able to outplay them.
“That probably won’t be possible on that pitch, so we are up for a scrap.”