“I’m going to be successful here and there are players there who won’t be part of that successful team”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hit out at his players’ reaction to an embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Everton on Sunday and suggested that some of them will not be at the club next season.
Solskjaer apologised to Manchester United’s away supporters after the defeat at Goodison Park – United’s sixth in eight games – and it has prompted a furious reaction from pundits, including Gary Neville and David Moyes.
The Red Devil’s front three of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku were largely anonymous, with a starting midfield that included Paul Pogba and Fred little better.
Asked if his players reaction in the dressing room afterwards had shown they cared about playing for the club, Solskjaer puffed out his cheeks and replied: “I don’t know, I don’t know.”
Then asked if they cared as much as him about the club, he added: “You’ve got to ask them. I’ve asked them. You’re not going to get the answer from me.
“Of course, if you want to play at this club it has to mean more. I want my team to be the hardest-working team in the league.
“That’s what we were under Sir Alex, that’s what we’ve always been, you’ve got Giggsy, Becks, Gary Neville, Denis Irwin, whatever the talent you’ve got you’ve ran more than anyone, every single week, put in a shift up and down that pitch for your teammates.”
Continuing, Solskjaer implied that some of his players would be unlikely to still be at the club next season.
“We have to stick together as a team, we can’t change the whole squad, it’s one step as a time,” he said.
“I’ve said all along, I’m going to be successful here and there are players there who won’t be part of that successful team. But there are players there, of course, many of these who do have it.”
United will now need to win all their remaining games – starting with Wednesday’s derby against Manchester City – to stand any chance of finishing in the top four.
