Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has lifted the lid on his relationship with the players, admitting he struggled to keep everyone at the club happy
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has opened up about his time managing Manchester United, revealing there were players who would 'leak things because they were unhappy'.
Solskjaer spent three years in charge at Old Trafford and insists that he and his staff had a 'very good rapport with the players', but that United's squad was simply too big for him to keep every player happy.
"I felt we [coaching staff] had a very good rapport with the players, but there are always one or two in a squad that leak things because they are unhappy," Solskjaer said in an appearance on the Stick to Football podcast, in association with Sky Bet.
"Being a manager, you play a game Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, you sack about 14 players every game and the next morning you have to tell them they have another chance. There are only a certain amount of times you can say, 'I'll give you that game, you've got a chance'.
"In the end, they go sour, we had a big squad with too many players. If you have too many players, they get unhappy."
Solskjaer was sacked by United in 2021 and has not taken on another management job since, despite having received plenty of offers, with the 51-year-old stating he only wants to join a club that will allow him to "be myself".
He added: "I needed time out [after leaving Manchester United], and I have properly enjoyed it. Just prioritised myself, family – and I have had a few offers with [other clubs] and it's like, 'Nah, I'm not ready'.
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| Solskjaer was sacked by United in 2021 and has not taken a new job since ( Image: AFP via Getty Images) |
"It's one of them, it's got to be somewhere where I can be myself, not like anyone dictating, 'You need to do this, you need to do this', because when you've been at United, you manage them, you learn a few things, and you want to do it your way next time.
"So, yeah, I've enjoyed myself. That's the thing, you think, 'I don't really need a job', but then if something pops up then yeah, why not? I don't think there's a magic wand [at Manchester United] as in, 'We've changed the owners'.
"Obviously, they've got their ways of working – the Glazers have still got their commercial – who knows how it's going to be in football with that side of it. Obviously Erik [ten Hag], I hope he's going to be successful."
