'Solskjaer deserves a chance' - Man Utd should stick with under-fire boss until at least the end of the season, insists Scholes

Posted Friday, October 15, 2021 by Goal.com

A club legend thinks his former team-mate has earned the right to see out the current campaign after putting together a stellar squad

Paul Scholes has insisted that Manchester United should stick with under-fire boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer until at least the end of the season.

Solskjaer has just begun his third full season in the Old Trafford hot-seat, having initially been drafted in to replace Jose Mourinho back in December 2018.

The Norwegian has not yet delivered any major silverware, and questions are being asked over his tactical approach after United's mediocre start to the 2021-22 campaign, but Scholes thinks he deserves more time after assembling an exciting squad.

What's been said?

The likes of Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes, Edinson Cavani, Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho have all been brought in during Solskjaer's reign, and he was even able to arrange the return of Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus on deadline day in September.

Scholes, who won 11 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues at United between 1993 and 2003, feels his ex-team-mate has earned the right to try and gel those star names together, as he told Sky Sports' live fan debate The Overlap: "I think he deserves a chance.

"If you think about the last three or four years about where United had been, it has been shocking, hasn't it? It had not been great to watch before he came.

"It has took him two or three years to build a squad where we think the pieces are there to the puzzle, it's just getting them in that right organisation.

"There was a lot of excitement at the start of the season after four or five games; they beat Newcastle (4-1) and beat Leeds (5-1) and the last two games [Villa and Everton] have been disappointing.

"But I think he deserves a chance. He has built a squad where he should be given a year, at least this season, to show that he can manage that and win trophies."

Scholes on Ronaldo being benched

Scholes also addressed Solskjaer's decision to bench Ronaldo for the Red Devils' home fixture against Everton just before the international break, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

The Portuguese superstar had scored five goals in his first five games after re-signing with the Manchester outfit, and another club legend feels Solskjaer should always start with his strongest starting XI going forward.

"If you go back to the Europa League final against Villarreal, he could not make a sub," said Scholes. "He couldn't make a sub because his bench and his squad just wasn't good enough," Scholes continued. "Now he could probably make four or five changes.

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"The one thing I would say about the last two games, especially the Everton one, I don't think Man United are in a position to rest players. They are nowhere near good enough to rest players. They have to play their best team right from the off."

United are due back in Premier League action against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.