Peter Schmeichel has described calls to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as ‘absolutely ridiculous’ and has backed his former teammate to bring success to Manchester United.
Solskjaer has come under increasing pressure following a number of unconvincing performances in recent weeks, with the Norwegian criticised after naming Cristiano Ronaldo as a substitute during Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Everton at Old Trafford last weekend.
United’s mixed fortunes have also included a Carabao Cup exit to West Ham and Champions League defeat to Young Boys, but Schmeichel has described talk of sacking Solskjaer as ‘ridiculous’.
Schmeichel insisted that Solskjaer has delivered progress and pointed to the failures of previous big-name managers, questioning who the Red Devils would bring in should a decision be made to part with his former teammate.
“I think it’s ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous,” Schmeichel told ITV Sport. “Do they want another [Louis] Van Gaal or another [Jose] Mourinho? What do they want?
“It’s been tried, bringing in the so-called big-name managers and they don’t have the same care and attention to detail in the youth and development and DNA of the club as Ole has.
“That period before him [Solskjaer], a lot of players came in and a lot of coaches left, so everything needs to be rebuilt. I hope people understand that it takes time.
“Remember, we finished runners-up last season, if we can do that again it will still be very good.
“So give Ole time. Let’s not throw all these big headlines out there saying ‘Ole out’, because the next question is “who?”
“If anyone can come up with a manager who is guaranteed to do better then I’m willing to debate that but at the moment I don’t see that name out there.”
