This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted his side are on the “right track” despite their draw against Everton on Saturday.
What did he say?
Reports in recent weeks have suggested the Red Devils boss’ future at the club is far from uncertain, but a couple of priceless wins against rivals Tottenham and Manchester City respectively took a little of the heat off.
But United were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by the Toffees on Saturday afternoon, meaning they remain outside of the Premier League’s top four for the time being. And despite failing to see his side win, Solskjaer is adamant the project is going well.
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He said (as quoted by the club’s official website): “I think we’re on the right track. One 15-minute spell today was poor and you felt they could have got something. I’m looking forward to going into work tomorrow, because these boys want to improve. We’ve had a decent spell without losing games, but of course draws are no good in this league. We need to work on turning draws into wins.
“We dominated the game, we put pressure on them. We couldn’t really create the openings we wanted to after they scored. Before they scored, we had two or three decent opportunities to take the lead and that was the big difference.”
Risk falling away
Whilst Solskjaer may think his side is on the “right track”, the result against Everton confirms that the Norwegian has led United to a worse record than when Jose Mourinho got sacked last December. The Red Devils had collected just 26 points from their opening 17 games in the previous campaign, whilst now, they have picked up one fewer.
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That stat in itself doesn’t hint to any real progression, and the Red Devils find themselves four points off fourth-placed Chelsea. The Blues’ recent slump which saw them lose to Bournemouth at the weekend has given United a great chance of eclipsing them into the final Champions League qualifying spot, but if they continue to drop points in games they should realistically be winning, then they will live to regret it at the end of the season.
Defeats against the likes of Crystal Palace, Newcastle and Bournemouth, and draws to Everton like on Saturday could be the nail in the coffin for their top-four hopes.
Meanwhile, Manchester United fans have hailed this ace for his appearance against AZ Alkmaar.