Jamie O’Hara has leapt to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s defence and insists Manchester United are genuine title contenders this season.
The Norwegian has come under increased scrutiny after an indifferent start to the 2020/21 campaign, which has seen them switch between diabolical and sublime on a weekly basis.
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The Red Devils were also knocked out at the group stage in a Champions League campaign for the first time since 2015/16, following a 3-2 defeat against RB Leipzig earlier this month.
Despite that talkSPORT pundit O’Hara has backed the Red Devils to be in and ‘amongst it’ come the end of May.
“If they win their games in hand over Tottenham they are second in the league, they’d be on 26 points,” O’Hara explained.
“You can’t get away from the fact they are there or thereabouts. You look at their form; win, win win, draw. They’re not going beat. All this talk of Ole out needs to be put to bed.
“If they keep getting results they are amongst it.”
However, former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan is far from convinced about Solskjaer’s managerial credentials, and says it’s about time the ‘mediocre’ coach leaves Old Trafford.
Asked what Solskjaer needs to do to fix his problems at United, Jordan told talkSPORT host Jim White: “I don’t think he should be doing anything besides from getting his coat.
“The thing with me and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is I don’t like the fact that mediocrity gets rewarded.
“This is the biggest job in world football, in my view. I know the Real Madrids, Barcelonas, and Bayern Munich’s would all contest that, but in my mind the poster boy of the biggest league in the world, the Premier League, is Manchester United.
“And if you go to mediocrity, you’re going to get mediocrity in return. That’s my bugbear with Solskjaer. A team reflects its leadership.”
He continued: “It’s easy to take a swipe at him, but when you’re in the box seat, when you’re in the biggest job in world football and you’ve been there for two years… he got a pass at the back end of last season which has distorted the view of what Man United really are – a very average side with some very highly priced footballers who aren’t performing at the level that they should be.
“With Ole in charge it’s going to be a bloody long-term project, they’ll finish writing the doomsday book before Solskjaer wins anything of merit with Manchester United.
“I wouldn’t have appointed him in the first place because I think he represents mediocrity. I think he’s a thoroughly decent football person but Manchester United don’t need a DECENT football person, they need an EXCELLENT football person who is capable of taking them to the next level.”
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