The Red Devils boss is remaining level-headed despite his side’s fine start in the Premier League
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would not be drawn on Manchester United’s title chances after their dramatic late win at West Ham, joking he had “lost his job yesterday” after their midweek disappointment in Europe.
Solskjaer went into Sunday’s match at London Stadium under a bit of pressure after a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Young Boys in the Champions League.
But the Red Devils bounced back with a drama-filled 2-1 victory to stay level on points with Chelsea and Liverpool at the top of Premier League.
Solskjaer not getting carried away
The scoreline from London Stadium only tells half the story, with Jesse Lingard snatching the winner in the 89th minute before David de Gea saved Mark Noble’s penalty deep into stoppage-time.
The dramatic nature of the victory allied with United’s fine start has raised hopes among the supporters of a Premier League title challenge.
Solskjaer, though, is remaining level-headed as he reminded reporters that some people were questioning his future a few days ago.
“You’re not gonna get me on that one now,” he replied when asked about his side’s title prospects. “It’s five games into the season. I was probably down and out and lost my job yesterday. That’s the way it is at Man United.
“We deserved three points. It’s a hard place to come, here. Hopefully these points can make a difference. Let’s see [about the title] when we get towards April and May.”
‘We have to defend better’
Reflecting on the game itself, Solskjaer said there was room for improvement.
The Norwegian was particularly unhappy with his side’s defending for Said Benrahma’s goal, which went in via a huge deflection off defender Raphael Varane.
“We have to defend better,” Solskjaer added. “We have to make it harder to break us down. For their goal the structure was wrong for whatever reason and we’ll have to work on it.”
Solskjaer also confirmed that Lingard will start for the Red Devils when they face West Ham again in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
The England international is out of contract at the end of the season and has yet to commit to fresh terms, but Solskjaer insists he is happy at Old Trafford.
“Jesse was quite clear he wants to fight for his place and be part of a Man United team that is going places,” Solskjaer added.
“I can’t speak for Jesse now but he’s really contributing. He’ll play on Wednesday as I’ll make a few changes.”
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