Rio Ferdinand has defended Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer amid calls for him to be sacked after their 1-1 draw with Everton.
Rafa Benitez’s side claimed a point at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime, with Anthony Martial’s first half strike cancelled out by an Andros Townsend goal.
The previous weekend United dropped points at home after they lost 1-0 to Aston Villa.
And the draw with Toffees meant they missed their chance to go top of the Premier League and have now won just two of their last six matches across all competitions.
Solskjaer made a number of changes to the side that beat Villarreal in the Champions League in midweek, the most controversial of which was to leave star man Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench.
The decision to leave out United’s talisman has further increased the pressure on the United boss after they failed to beat Everton.
Ferdinand admits his former club are struggling for consistency but claims that now is not the right time for fans to be calling for Solskjaer to be sacked.
“It’s now three losses in five, drawn one and won one, so it’s not a great vein of form that they’re in,” Ferdinand told FIVE.
‘But Man United are good enough, they’ve got good enough players, great depth, they need to start really getting the performances in and the results to turn things around.
‘One thing I would say – it’s not the time to panic.
“This isn’t a time to start calling for Ole’s head etc, because they are still within touching distance at the top, they’ve still got an opportunity to mount a threat and contend for the league.
“But they have to really start getting some consistency and getting some form back.”
Ronaldo, who only days before had scored the winner against Villarreal, cut a very different figure at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, storming down the tunnel at full time.
Ferdinand defended Solskjaer’s decision to make changes after the midweek game, and admitted he could understand Ronaldo’s reaction to the frustrating draw with the Toffees.
He added: “I just think Ole wanted to sharpen things up, freshen it up after the game [against Villarreal], how late it was in the game we won, the emotion that goes with that and the quick turnaround. That would’ve been his reasoning.
“But there’s no doubt that the players, the fans would’ve left the ground disappointed today, the result isn’t what they wanted. Cristiano Ronaldo himself when he trudged off the pitch he was frustrated, that’s understandable.”