Man Utd don’t need a big-name boss as they’ve got one of the biggest in their history with Solskjaer, says Schmeichel
MANCHESTER UNITED don't need a big-name boss as they've got one of the biggest in their history with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, says Peter Schmeichel.
The Manchester United legend has urged his former club to stand by Solskjaer despite them being linked with Mauricio Pochettino and Massimiliano Allegri.
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The Norwegian boss certainly put a smile back on fans' faces following the gloom-laden closing months of Jose Mourinho’s reign.
He won his first eight games and lost only one of his first 17 when he took over in the December of last season.
The tables turned and pressure mounted on the Norwegian boss when his players limped to just two wins from their final 12 games of the 2018/19 campaign.
But the Red Devils have looked like a completely different team since the January transfer window, having signed Bruno Fernandes and secured Odion Ighalo on a loan deal.
Before the coronavirus crisis KO'd this season indefinitely, United were on an 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions and up to fifth spot in the Premier League, pushing for a Champions League place.
Schmeichel believes the Red Devils are better sticking with his former United team-mate whom he won the Treble in 1999 than searching for a big name manager.
The 56-year-old said: "I think Ole has been absolutely fantastic.
"Fingers crossed that everyone in the boardroom and the ownership circle see the same thing, that they're happy with what got and don't see the need to change to yet another big-name manager.
"We have a big-name manager. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is one of the biggest names in Manchester United's history, so we don't need anybody else.
"Ole had them going really well. It was 11 games undefeated, before everything was closed down. It was a big shame, because the job that Ole's done, it really is an amazing job."
The goalkeeping legend believes his former teammate is doing a good job of getting rid of dead wood to make space for new aces like Fernandes.
He added: “I don't think he was given the best squad of players to do precisely what he wanted to do. He realised very quickly it was going to take time and he spent that time wisely.
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“The players he knew for sure that had to go, I think most of them have gone. I think the players he brought in were good, in the sense of what he wanted to do.
“So I'm actually looking at United being very successful this season, with the introduction of new players and still in touching distance of Champions League qualification.”
Solskjaer famously helped seal the 1999 Treble alongside Schmeichel with a miraculous winner in the Champions League final over Bayern Munich.