Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: ‘It’s one step forward and three backwards for Man Utd’

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted it’s been one step forward for Manchester United and ‘three backwards’ after the Red Devils’ 2-0 loss in the Manchester derby.

It’s been a difficult spell for the beleaguered Norwegian who watched his side lose 5-0 to Liverpool two weeks ago. They responded with a 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur before getting a credible 2-2 draw in Italy during the week.

But the display against Manchester City means the pressure is well and truly back on Solskjaer after it had somewhat eased, and it will dominate the agenda over the two week international break.

Against Pep Guardiola’s men, United were abysmal, lacked creativity, failed to get the ball of City and it’s a major setback for Solskjaer.

“It’s very disappointing,” he conceded in Saturday’s post-match press conference. “It comes after a week where we feel we’ve made a step forward, results-wise, and then three steps backwards.

“It’s the way of losing that we don’t like. When you lose a game against a good team you want to see a better Manchester United team than that. We never got the level we needed to be at against a good team.”

Responding against Watford

Despite the pressure ramping up on Solskjaer, he is confident he will still be in a job when United return to action after the international break.

The Red Devils face Watford in a game that Solskjaer has said his side must respond like a ‘hurt animal’, although he admit the international break has come at a good time for United.

“For me it’s about going back to what we were doing right. This is a disappointing spell,” he said. “The result and performance against Tottenham was good, but it’s not what we want to look like. We want to be on the front foot and be more aggressive.

“When you lose a game of football there’s no better remedy than winning a game,” he continued. “You can feel confident by winning again. For us it’s all about Watford - we have to come out against Watford like a proper hurt animal. We have to get back to what we know we can be. That’s the only way to approach this situation.

“Yes, the short answer is I think it [the international break] comes at a good time for us now,” Solskjaer added. “We’ve had a difficult spell and this was a big step backwards.”