“You have to win with Cristiano Ronaldo" - Gary Neville claims Solskjaer would be 'gone by now' a few years ago, says Manchester United have to win silverware this season

Gary Neville believes Manchester United would have sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer if not for their bad experiences with hiring and firing managers in the last decade. The Red Devils legend claims it costs more to switch managers than stick with one, even if they have relatively no success on the pitch.

Manchester United have not won a trophy since 2017 when they lifted the EFL Cup and Europa League under Jose Mourinho. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken the Red Devils close to success but has failed to take the final step.

Manchester United fans have been calling for his sacking, but the Glazers seem confident in the manager. Gary Neville believes the club trusts the long-term project and that is the main reason why they have not sacked the Norwegian. He told Sky Sports:

"If Ole had been the manager in the post Sir Alex Ferguson slip stream he'd be gone by now. But because of those bad experiences that United have had through getting rid of managers after a year, two years, eight months, they're going to live with him and believe in the project for a longer period. And I think probably it's the right way to go because they've had bad experiences through changing managers. It costs more money sometimes to change."

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'Make or Break' for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United

While backing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Gary Neville added that this season might be a make or break for the manager. The Red Devils legend added that Manchester United need to win something with Cristiano Ronaldo in the team. If they don't, Neville believes Solskjaer's sacking is inevitable.

"What I do think now, three years in, this is his third full season… performance has to improve. So the problems that Ole has got at the moment is Ronaldo coming means it's make or break. You have to win with Ronaldo, you have to win a trophy. He's not coming here not to win a trophy and be second, third and fourth. Second thing is the performances are poor. You [Paul Scholes] have said the last couple of games… I don't think they've even played well enough a lot of the games they've won."

Manchester United have a challenging round of fixtures coming up. The Red Devils will face the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea over the next two months. Concerningly, they will be without Raphael Varane for a few weeks, while Harry Maguire's fitness is also hanging in the balance.