Solskjær to stay in charge of Manchester United for game at Tottenham

Ole Gunnar Solskjær will take charge of Manchester United’s game at Tottenham on Saturday after the club followed Sir Alex Ferguson’s advice and gave the manager a chance to turn fortunes around.

Ferguson, Ed Woodward and Richard Arnold threw their support behind Solskjær after United’s 5-0 humiliation by Liverpooland the taking of one point from the past four games. Joel Glazer, the co-chairman who heads the American family’s ownership, makes the final decisions and agreed the manager should continue.

It is understood United’s focus is on getting behind Solskjær in the hope that results will improve. Assuming the outcome at Spurs allows Solskjær to carry on, he will look to next Tuesday’s Champions League game at Atalanta and the Premier League match at home to Manchester City the following Saturday.

Given that some players have doubts regarding Solskjær’s tactical acumen, how he gets them to respond will be crucial.

Ferguson made one of his infrequent visits to United’s training ground on Tuesday in an apparent show of support for Solskjær, who was also at Carrington after the players had Monday off. Solskjær was mentored by Ferguson as a coach at United from 2007-10 and played under him for more than 10 years.

Woodward, who could stay as executive vice-chairman until April, and Arnold, the managing director and Woodward’s likely successor, also argued that Solskjær should continue, having backed him during other turbulent moments since he took over in December 2018. Glazer, who has five family members on the 12-person board of directors listed by United, will decide for how long the 48-year-old should remain. He runs United from his Florida base.

Antonio Conte is open to discussing any vacancy and the former Chelsea manager is waiting to see how events unfold. He is not usually keen to take a job mid-season but would make an exception for United, which he regards as a special club.

In July United gave Solskjær a contract extension to 2024 with an option for an extra year and his assistant Mike Phelan signed a new deal to 2024 this month.