Sir Alex Ferguson’s former assistant Steve McClaren has explained how Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can make Manchester United ‘unstoppable’.
This time last week Solskjaer was fighting to save his job at Old Trafford, but a 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur and a battling 2-2 draw with Atalanta seems to have satisfied the Man United board for now.
Solskjaer has been in the job for three years but is yet to lead the club to any silverware, with the Red Devils finishing second in the Premier League last season and losing the Europa League final against Villarreal.
A summer in which Manchester United signed Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane appeared to suggest the club would be in contention to win the Premier League this season, but three defeats and two draws in ten games has left them fifth in the table, eight points adrift of European champions Chelsea.
Despite United’s inconsistent form, McClaren believes the team can become ‘unstoppable’ if Solskjaer works out how best to use Ronaldo and manages to get the whole squad firing.
‘Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] has to find a way to integrate [Cristiano] Ronaldo and get that team playing as a team because they aren’t doing that at the present moment,’ said McClaren, who was assistant manager to Ferguson at Manchester United from 1999 to 2001.
‘But once they find the solution and once they do that, my God they’ll be quite unstoppable.’
McClaren also heaped praise on Ronaldo, who once again saved Manchester United on Tuesday evening, scoring twice to deny Atalanta a famous win in the Champions League.
‘He’s all about winning, and he knows how to win,’ McClaren told talkSPORT. ‘Manchester United and Ole have brought him in to that dressing room to teach everybody else, this is what it takes to win.
‘They’ve got to follow suit, the rest of the team. I saw his body language [following the 2-2 draw against Atalanta] and he’s remonstrating with players.
‘He reminds me a little bit of Roy Keane, Roy used to do that. He’s a winner and that’s what he wants from the team.’
Solskjaer’s Manchester United face rivals and Premier League champions Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday.