Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Manchester United reign has been an unrelenting emotional rollercoaster. Whenever the Red Devils seem to reach a point of no-return, the Norwegian pulls off something spectacular such as the recent consecutive victories over Tottenham and Manchester City. The more optimistic corners of Old Trafford begin to hope again, then their side put in a display that makes the former Molde boss look hopelessly out of his depth. It's a never-ending cycle. That means any joy at the 4-0 victory over Norwich yesterday has been tempered by the midweek mauling at the hands of Manchester City. Pep Guardiola's side rocked up at Old Trafford without a recognised striker and absolutely dominated their rivals. 

The champions raced into a three-goal lead before half-time, courtesy of strikes from Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez and some comical defending preceding an Andreas Pereira own goal. 

Marcus Rashford managed to restore a modicum of respectability by hitting back in the 70th minute, but by then United's semi-final hopes were already hanging in the balance. 

Due to the Carabao Cup scrapping the away goals rule, Solskjaer's men could still progress were they to win 2-0 in the second leg at the Etihad. 

Although they pulled off a surprise win across the city in December, judging by their midweek display, that has to be seen as an unlikely possibility. 

United were outclassed. That should be cause for alarm in every quarter at the Theatre of Dreams, from the board to the players, and to the fans. 

Fortunately, one man who isn't remotely worried by United's latest wretched outing is Solskjaer himself. 

The manager took another chance to reflect on what had happened in the cup following the win against Norwich and he concluded - wait for it - that United are "going places". 

"When you play Man City in the Carabao Cup and they put their strongest team out, you know that you're going places," he said. 

"Because that means that they respect us."

You really can't fault his enthusiasm.

It should be noted, however, that his comment about City's "strongest" team isn't even true, as they played without Sergio Aguero and with Claudio Bravo in goal instead of Ederson. 

Solskjaer faced a similar backlash after his side drew with newly-promoted Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, a result which he suggested showed they had taken "big strides" in not losing by four or five goals. 

While the 46-year-old will always be hugely popular because of his legendary status, it's easy to see why more and more United fans feel his mentality is not befitting of arguably the biggest job in football.