Manchester United players ‘lose faith’ in Solskjaer after Liverpool pasting

The Norwegian is understood to have lost the dressing room, even before Sunday's humiliation

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's days as Manchester United could be numbered as reports emerged that the club's hierarchy is considering his position after Sunday's disastrous home defeat to Liverpool. According to ESPN, Solskjaer had already lost the confidence of a number of first team players even before that defeat, with many said to be questioning the manager's tactics and selection decisions this season while away on international duty. The Norwegian manager has faced crises of confidence at Old Trafford before, but their start to this season - which has seen them lose five of their last nine games - looks like it could be the final straw, especially after the big money summer signings of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo.

'While the atmosphere around the club is nowhere close to being, in the words of one source "as toxic as it was under Mourinho,"' writes Mark Ogden, 'the defeat to Liverpool has cast an air of resignation around Old Trafford about Solskjaer's future as manager.'

United's board are understood to be aware of Antonio Conte's willingness to take on the job. The Italian coach has been strongly linked with the position since leaving Inter Milan during the summer. He is believed to have been close to taking the Spurs job after Jose Mourinho's sacking, but opted against it. The defeat to Liverpool, described by Solskjaer as his worst day as United manager, followed a 4-2 defeat to Leicester City the previous weekend, and has led to most serious question marks yet regarding his ability to take the team forward. The Guardian, meanwhile, reports that the Premier League's managing director Richard Arnold has cancelled all appointments on Monday in advance of a meeting with Joel Glazer, who fronts his family's ownership of Manchester United.

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