Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer faced the press – over Zoom – on Tuesday ahead of Manchester United’s clash with Atalanta.
Solskjaer did not get off easy after United’s woeful 4-2 defeat to Leicester City at the weekend.
Here is a look at three things we learned from Solskjaer’s presser…
United are paying attention to negative media reports
As much as United would prefer to just ignore the negativity in the media, they have been unable to do so this week.
A report from The Athletic claiming Marcus Rashford’s camp were unhappy at a suggestion the forward should focus on his football earned a stinging rebuke.
Solskjaer lined up the press conference alongside Rashford and criticised the reporting, and for the way other media took his original quote out of context.
It was clear this had stung Solskjaer, and United. There has been a lot of negativity in the media in relation to the manager and this was one issue he was unwilling to let lie.
Solskjaer also defended the work of United’s coaching staff, and it’s clear the club are unhappy with the media narrative that they are not up to scratch.
Solskjaer is coming out fighting
Solskjaer was on the front foot from the moment the press conference began, immediately addressing the Rashford issue.
He will want his team to take the fight to Atalanta in a similar way this week and he will have wanted to inspire his players.
While many have written Solskjaer off as a manager heading for the sack amid the poor form and tough fixture list, the Red Devils boss is not ready to accept that supposedly inevitable fate.
Solskjaer knows a big result this week will also set United up nicely for the Liverpool game, and two wins will have a transformative effect on the narrative over his job.
More questions about Solskjaer than the game
If it were not for questions from Italian reporters, you could have been forgiven for forgetting there was a match on tonight.
Questions over Solskjaer’s management dominated the topics of discussion and barely a word was said on potential team selection issues.
Solskjaer of course will want to give little away as to his plans for the fixture, but this underlines how under pressure he is currently under.
A win against Atalanta will put Solskjaer in a far stronger position and make Friday’s press conference a far more comfortable experience for the manager.
Defeat will make the pre-Liverpool presser a requirement Solskjaer will dread.
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