KEY POINTS

  • Ole Gunnar Solskjaer claims he enjoys hearing criticism since it forces him to be better
  • Manchester United's upper management ultimately sticks with him, despite public outcries for a change
  • Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo finds himself jobless after the loss to Solskjaer's side

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjer has spoken out against those counting out against his club and himself, specifically.

Ahead of their flight to Italy for a UEFA Champions League match with Atalanta, the Norwegian bared his thoughts in front of the media.

“Criticism can make you doubt yourself or you can stand up for yourself and I’ve always enjoyed criticism. Just keep that coming, that’s fine. You know, journalists, pundits, experts, we’ve all got different jobs and it’s their job to give their opinion. That’s their job. I’m not here to fight with them, I don’t need a spat with anyone,” Solskjaer nonchalantly remarked.

His job was believed to be on the line as a loss to the Tottenham Hotspur would surely have had him sacked, but instead, it was Nuno Espirito Santo who found himself jobless.

As an aside, it is believed that Antonio Conte is next in line for Nuno’s job in North London after originally being linked to Manchester United the past week.

The decision to switch to a more conventional 3-5-2 formation that featured Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani as the main strikers proved to be fruitful in the heavily criticized manager’s pursuit of job security.

Ronaldo starred in the match, scoring a goal of his own and assisting on Cavani’s strike before being subbed off ar the 71st minute for Marcus Rashford, who would score the third and decisive goal at the 86th minute.

It was a masterful performance all-around from the rejuvenated Manchester United squad and it seems as if the criticism about Solskjaer’s past insistence on playing an attack-heavy 4-2-4 formation got through him.

The Red Devils have not experienced a win in the English Premier League since defeating West Ham United in mid-September, and there is renewed hope that they can string together strong performances moving forward.

Solskajer figures to play his newfound formation against Atalanta on the second leg of the UEFA Champions League group stages when they visit the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy on Tuesday, November 2.

[The] next one [fixture against Atalanta] is the one that matters. We’ve been looking and working to get consistency and we know that when we get that consistency we’ll get results and performances,” Solskjaer responded when asked whether times are truly changing for them.

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