The Manchester United board will face an unexpectedly hard decision come the end of the 2018/19 season.

When they sacked Jose Mourinho and brought in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as interim boss, the board probably had one eye on the summer and their next managerial hire.

However, Solskjaer has transformed United from a wounded beast back into a roaring lion in the space of just nine games.

United won his first eight games in charge and showed a lot of spirit to come from two goals down against Burnley to draw in the week.

Given the Red Devils' transformation back into an exciting, high-octane side obsessed with attacking football, many want Solskjaer handed the role on a permanent basis.

But the name Mauricio Pochettino just will not go away...

The Tottenham boss is the frontrunner when it comes to an 'outside hire' and it's someone who Gary Neville has earmarked for the job on numerous occasions.

Nevertheless, Neville has accepted that Solskjaer's case is incredibly strong now and he has sent a clear message to the board about how to approach their decision over the Norwegian.

“I do have conflicting views,” Neville said, per Telegraph. “Personally I would want him [Solskjaer] to have a shot at the job he’s got now. But on the other hand I want the club to make an unemotional decision - ‘Is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the best person for the job?’

“If the answer is ‘yes’ at the end of the season because he’s got them into the top four and they’ve won the FA Cup, you’d say, ‘How can you not give him the job?’

“I’m not going to change from this. I said United should go for the best off the pitch football brain in the world and the best head coach in the world they can get.

“And if that’s Ole at the end of the season … I go back to that Pochettino always was the one who stood out for me as the one, in terms of the football, values and bringing through young players, like what he’s done at Tottenham and Southampton. Over a period of time it feels to me like he would be the natural choice.

“However, you look at what Del Bosque did at Real Madrid when he picked up the team, or like what Di Matteo did in that six months at Chelsea. It feels like what Ole’s doing, like he’s having that sort of time now.”

It's going to be a difficult decision and one which cannot be tarnished by emotion.

Neville has also stated that whoever is hired, they must not deviate from the club's philosophy which was instated by Sir Alex Ferguson.

He continued: "But I said to someone last week, whatever Manchester United do, they cannot allow a manager to walk through those doors ever again and bring their own philosophy that sits outside the principles of what United are, which is entertaining, attacking football, playing with risk with young players that come through the academy."

Do you think Solskjaer should get the Man Utd job permanently? Have your say in the comment box below.