Phil Neville backs ‘ruthless’ Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to win Manchester United job

Former Manchester United defender Phil Neville has said that he thinks interim United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will keep his job at the club.

Solskjaer replaced former manager Jose Mourinho last month and has won his first seven games of the season as United are now just within three points of fourth placed Chelsea. https://twitter.com/BBCMOTD/status/1088888066591227904 The club have been strongly linked with Tottenham Hotspurs manager Mauricio Pochettino but Neville think that his former teammate will be given the role on a permanent basis.

"He's got a ruthless side to him," Neville said on the BBC before Manchester United's fourth round FA Cup tie with Arsenal on Friday night. "Even when he was playing he was a coach. I sat next to him on the bench, for a lot of the time he would coach, he would talk through the games, he would study games afterwards with analysis. "For someone who could study the game as well as he could and who could come on and affect a game like he did he showed his intent to be a coach when he was older. "I think he's got the best seat in the house, I really do. It's easy for people to say go out and get Pochettino or [Zinedine] Zidane and I think if he keeps winning he'll end up with the job."

Manchester United forward Anthony Martial has also called for Solskjaer to be given the job and told ITV last week:

 “Everything is going very well at the moment, everyone is happy. So if it continues, why not?” 

He also describes the impact Solskjaer, a former forward, has had on his own game as an attacking player.

"It's been great for me to work with a manager who also was an attacker when he played. He gives me good advice, especially when it comes to positioning in front of goal and finishing technique. "The best advice I've received from him is that I need to play to my strengths. He also told me not to put too much pressure on myself, and try to express myself on the pitch.”