Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole has backed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to remain as the club’s boss.
Cole says he is ‘disappointed’ with the criticism the Norwegian is getting at the club, adding it is ‘not nice’ to hear the way people speak about him.
Manchester United has suffered heavy two defeats recently in the hands of arch-rivals Liverpool and Manchester City.
United’s board still have faith in Solskjaer though reports now suggest that the members of the board are divided on his future at the club.
But Cole, who spent five years playing alongside Solskjaer at Old Trafford, says nobody deserves the level of criticism that his ex team-mate has received.
“The flak that Ole gets disappoints me,” Cole told Sky Sports.
“I don’t think any manager should take that kind of flak; whether it’s United or non-league. I think they are trying to work to the best of their ability. He’s trying like everybody else who tried previously
“Whether he is my ex-team-mate or not, even if it was someone I didn’t know, I wouldn’t like people to talk about them like that. But I don’t like it because when I played with him I got on very well with him. To see him in this position now doesn’t sit well with me.
“We all want Manchester United to be back where they were, but that takes time. We can talk about ‘how much longer?’ But the previous managers have found themselves in the same position. The stick that Ole takes is, at times, not nice
“Things are never going to be easy for a club like Manchester United. To succeed Sir Alex Ferguson was always going to be difficult for whichever manager takes over – and what are we now, four managers in? And we are still talking about United not being in the position they would like to be
“But other teams have got to move forward. Look how long it took Liverpool to win the league. I’m not saying United are going to be in that position, but you can’t be kept by history. Manchester United have to get stronger as a team and go from there.
“United are four managers in; all the managers that have gone before have done a good job as well. Unfortunately, they have not been able to get them back to where they were.”
