Fulham boss Claudio Ranieri has told Manchester United that they should give Ole Gunnar Solskjaer another try next season. In December, Jose Mourinho was sacked by the Old Trafford hierarchy with the club’s former treble-winning striker Solskjaer brought in on an interim basis.
Mauricio Pochettino has been regularly linked with the 20-time champions of England, and was also said to be in the frame for the job following the dismissal of Louis van Gaal in 2016. Speculation over the future of the Tottenham Hotspur manager has seen the process to appoint the next United boss become a subject of interest for some Spurs fans.
Ahead of the visit of Solskjaer and his players at the weekend, Ranieri offered his backing to the Norwegian in his pre-match press conference. United are still to lose under the fan favourite and have won nine of his first 10 games in charge, reaching the fifth round of the FA Cup by beating Arsenal.
They have also scored wins over Spurs and a Bournemouth side who dismantled Chelsea 4-0 in January. After facing Fulham, Solskjaer’s United will come up against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League before meeting the Blues in the next stage of the FA Cup and title-challengers Liverpool in the Premier League.
If he is able to successfully guide his team through this tough run of fixtures, the pressure on his employers to make him the permanent boss will grow, which would only be good news for Spurs supporters desperate to keep Pochettino in north London.
“The result speaks for him,” said Ranieri, who lifted the Premier League title with Leicester City in 2016. “All victories and one draw, the players change their mind, more involved and they are fighting together. “These big teams are used to more matches and now they are focused on our match and then after they will think about Paris Saint-Germain,” he added.
Solskjaer came up against Ranieri as a player during the Italian’s last spell as a manager in west London. “When I played against them with Chelsea,” said the 67-year-old . “He was a fantastic player, scored fantastic goals and now his career is open and I wish him all the best. “He deserves at the moment. He shows the players are with him. Manchester has changed the mentality, why not?”