Not for the first time during his Manchester United tenure, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer finds himself under pressure.The Norwegian coach was unable to prevent United slumping to two hugely disappointing defeats against Arsenal and Istanbul Basaksehir in the space of three days.Arsenal registered their first victory at Old Trafford since 2006 on Sunday thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s second-half penalty.Istanbul Basaksehir, meanwhile, sealed their first ever victory in the Champions League group stages following a reasonably comfortable 2-1 home win.United’s defending was woeful for both goals, scored by Demba Ba and Edin Visca, and Solskjaer criticised his side’s complacency after the match.
“The performance wasn’t good enough,” Solskjaer conceded after the match, per the Daily Mail.“It's set us back a lot [the defeats against Arsenal and Basaksehir], you get a reality check every time you play football here.”Prior to the game, Solskjaer said that the Istanbul Basaksehir game would be a “difficult” test for his players.But Micah Richards - the former Manchester City defender-turned-pundit - criticised the United manager’s mentality.
“It’s a bit of a cop-out,” Richards said on CBS Sports. “I’m a big fan of Solskjaer, I’ve protected him and believe he was the right man for Man United. But to say Istanbul is a hard place to go… but there are no fans in the stadium! 350 fans?!“We talk about Man United, we keep saying they’re a massive club, which they are - but they shouldn’t be going to Istanbul with fear. That’s excuses for me.“I’ve protected [Solskjaer] up until this point but, for me, he’s making excuses.”Watch the clip of Richards discussing Solskjaer’s questionable mentality here…
Although Richards is a former City player, many United fans will agree with his comments.
They don’t want to hear David Moyes-esque defeatist comments from their manager.
A third straight defeat against Everton on Saturday and the knives really will be out for the United boss.