Paul Ince believes Manchester United “panicked” when they appointed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as their permanent manager and claims his former club no longer have the same “presence”.
Solskjaer – despite United’s excellent form in the Champions League – has come under severe pressure this season with his side languishing in fifteenth place in the Premier League.
The Red Devils have just seven points after six games, losing three of their first four at Old Trafford this season.
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And Ince claims they have lost the fear factor they once had and the United board made a mistake by rushing into the decision to appoint Solksjaer as the permanent boss.
“They’ve been inconsistent for a while now – even before Ole took over,” said the former United midfielder told Ladbrokes.
“Then they went on that great run and he got the job. It was hard not to give him the job after that run. I do think the board panicked though.
“All the fans were singing his name, ordering the club to give him the job and they did. I think they should’ve waited until the end of the season. Let him have it as interim manager until the end of the season then see who’s out there, who the best man is for the job.
“I’m not saying Ole’s not the best man for the job, and getting that team last season into third place was a great achievement. But I look at United now compared to when I played.
“We had a presence. Teams were frightened of us. We already had teams beat before we walked out onto the pitch. Whether it was home or away, teams were frightened of Manchester United. I don’t see that now.
“Teams look at them and think they can take points from the game. We saw it against Arsenal, where United were woeful. We’ve seen Crystal Palace do it. Something’s not quite right.”
There are no Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester City representatives in our rundown of the top ten players of the season. Nor Manchester United, of course, but Jay Rodriguez gets in?!
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