Solskjaer: "I'll be successful at United - several players won't"
Following Manchester United's 4-0 defeat at Everton, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer criticised his players' attitude: "That display was so bad, it’s difficult to find words to describe it".
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is adamant that he will build a successful side at Manchester United but conceded that some of his current squad will not be around to see it. United crashed to a humbling 4-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday - their fifth defeat in a row in all competitions which constitutes the club's worst run since March 1981.
United's top four ambitions in the balance
Today's defeat was a blow to United's hopes of finishing in the Premier League's top four and means they can ill afford to drop points against Manchester City and Chelsea in the coming week. Skolsjaer's team are currently sixth on 64 points - two points behind Arsenal in fourth and Chelsea in fifth. Arsenal's home defeat to Crystal Palace will give some cause for optimisim but Skolsjaer is determined his team are still in with a shot of claiming the final Champions League place.
"Right now, the biggest incentive we could have is to give City the same treatment at Old Trafford on Wednesday… Old Trafford, at home, in front of our fantastic fans – who were unbelievable again today. In the short term, we need to focus on the next two games which are massive for us because I’ve said before that we need 75-76 points to have a chance of making the top four. We’re on 64 points so there are 12 points to be won", the Norwegian explained.
Some players clearly don't care enough
However, when asked if what he saw in the dressing room after the match showed him the players care enough about playing for United, Solskjaer issued a damning response. "I don't know. You have to ask the players if they really care or not. I’ve asked them and you’re not going to get an answer from me but, if you want to play at this club, you have to give more. I want my team to be the hardest working team in the league – that’s what we were under Sir Alex. You ran more than anyone, every single week. We can’t change the whole squad in one fail swoop but we’ll take one step at a time and as I’ve said all along, I’m going to be successful here – and there are players here who won’t be part of that success. Many do have what it takes, others don’t".
United lacking football basics
Solskjaer praised the fans for the unconditional support they have shown the team since he took over from José Mourinho back in December but stressed that United will get nowhere playing like they did at Goodison this afternoon. “We’ve got to apologise to the fans because they were absolutely fantastic and that performance is not good enough for a team like Manchester United – all the way down from me to the players. We know we’ve let the fans down and the club down today. That performance was so bad, it’s difficult to find words to describe it. Everton beat us on all of the basics. It took us 85 minutes to get our first strike on goal which is not good enough”.