Solskjaer’s United looking for response after rare defeat

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WOLVERHAMPTON, United Kingdom, March 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer will look for Manchester United to respond to the first domestic
defeat of his reign when they face Wolves in the FA Cup quarter-finals on
Saturday as the Norwegian moves closer to landing the job on a permanent
basis.

United’s shock Champions League victory at Paris Saint-Germain last week
carried them through to the last eight and all but confirmed Solskjaer will
soon be named Jose Mourinho’s successor on a long-term basis.

Since that famous evening in France, United have tasted defeat for the
first time in England on the interim manager’s watch, beaten 2-0 in last
weekend’s league visit to Arsenal.

But although that setback dented United’s bid for a top-four finish, it did
little damage to Solskjaer’s standing, especially given the nightmare injury
list he has endured recently.

Some reports have suggested Solskjaer could be confirmed as manager during
the forthcoming international break, which follows the Wolves Cup tie.

United officials have offered no guidance on whether the appointment is
imminent, but it emerged last week that Solskjaer does not, as was commonly
thought, have a contract with his former club Molde.

He revealed that, with regulations forbidding a manager from having
concurrent contracts with more than one club, he tore up his deal with the
Norwegian side to join United in December.

It is understood United and Molde have put in place a compensation package
should Solskjaer win the post permanently, with a figure of around œ500,000
($665,000) mooted.

However, the United hierarchy, led by executive vice chairman Ed Woodward,
have another burning personnel issue to resolve as the club seek to appoint a
director of football.

– Pivotal period –

The time-table is for that role to be filled before the end of the season,
allowing the newcomer the opportunity to oversee a close-season of transfer
activity about which Solskjaer has already been consulted.

The former United striker has talked openly about having been asked by the
board for his thoughts on future player sales and acquisitions, although he
claims that has no bearing on whether he will eventually land the manager’s
job.

It was always believed that March would be a pivotal period in the process
of appointing a director of football as plans for the pre-season tour to
Australia become finalised and increased attention starts being placed on
signings.

Former Tottenham and Southampton head of recruitment Paul Mitchell has been
consistently linked with the post.

Part of the logic behind his potential appointment seemed to focus on the
possibility that his friend and Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino might be
in line to become the United manager.

Mitchell, now at German side RB Leipzig, has seen his name mentioned
alongside the likes of Borussia Dortmund’s director of football Michael Zorc,
former Arsenal sporting director Sven Mislintat and former United goalkeeper
Edwin van der Sar, currently CEO at Ajax.

While that appointment will be made with an eye on the summer, United must
also assess what possible impact Solskjaer’s permanent promotion to the post
might have on the remainder of the season.

The feelgood impact of his December arrival still shows no sign of being
diluted and, conceivably, an announcement could have public relations value
for the club over the closing stages of the campaign.

In the shorter term, United’s long injury list is slowly improving ahead of
the trip to Wolves, with Ander Herrera, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard all in
contention to rejoin the squad.

Wolves could prove a significant obstacle to United’s hopes of reaching the
semi-finals however, having already beaten Chelsea and Liverpool and drawn
with Manchester City at Molineux this season.

“It’s an important game for us to get the semi-final at Wembley. We play at
home. We’re going to prepare for this game all week now and try to do
something great on Saturday,” Wolves midfielder Romain Saiss said.