Why Man Utd are in no rush to appoint new boss

Robin Bairner

• 27 Oct 2021 10:44 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is facing the very real prospect of the sack.

The Red Devils suffered an embarrassing 5-0 loss against Liverpool on Sunday, which pushed the Norwegian to the brink.

Although Solskjaer’s record stacks up well in comparison to Man Utd’s managers since Sir Alex Ferguson, he has been given unrivalled backing in the transfer market, with the club signing stars like Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo this summer.

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Such additions were expected to make Man Utd a force in the Premier League title race, yet with nine matches gone they have already fallen eight points behind leaders Chelsea.

The knives are out for Solskjaer at Old Trafford, but in the wake of the weekend’s embarrassment, no definitive action has been taken.

Tuttosport suggests this is simply because of the intimidating run of fixtures that Man Utd have approaching.

According to the Italian paper, Antonio Conte has been contacted by the Red Devils over a potential move to the club.

However, he will not take command until after this treacherous run that Man Utd face.

First up at the weekend they will travel to Tottenham for a vital fixture that they hope puts them back on track.

After that, they are at Atalanta in the Champions League, having narrowly beaten the Italians 3-2 at Old Trafford after coming from two behind. Then comes a derby against Manchester City in what is a fixture that many fans presently fear.

The November break follows this run of three fixtures, and it could be then that change at Man Utd takes place.

Why Man Utd should act now

While this theory is an attractive one, these three matches also provide the opportunity for Man Utd to fall deeper into trouble.

Poor results in all three matches would leave the club in the midst of a full-blown crisis and they would surely want to capitalise on Conte taking command immediately. He would have nothing to lose, after all.

Indeed, if Conte is Man Utd’s next manager, the sooner he is installed the better because he is likely to implement a dramatic change of approach to that of Solskjaer.