Former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has slammed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and has suggested that the Norwegian only remains at Old Trafford because he is a former player.
Louis van Gaal was hired as manager of Manchester United in the summer of 2014 after a successful World Cup with the Netherlands national team, where he led his country to a third-place finish.
In his first season in charge of United, he led the club to a fourth-place finish, securing Champions League football for the following season. In his second season, Van Gaal led United to an FA Cup triumph, but was sacked after the club finished fifth in the Premier League table.
Van Gaal's Manchester United side were often criticized for their possession-based style of play, and lack of attacking football. The Dutchman remains bitter about the way he was ushered out of the club and has this week offered a frank assessment of his former club.
Louis Van Gaal delivered some harsh comments on Manchester United's performance against Manchester City
The 69-year-old Solskjaer has the additional protection of being a club legend and will simply not be axed by United midway through a season. He did suggest that Solskjaer could be in for a rude shock at the end of the season.
Solskaer is an ex-player, so they will not sack him as quickly as someone else. United wont sack a manager during the season, especially Solskjaer. I see all the stories about Solskjaer and his future in the media. But they waited with sacking me until the end of the season and that could happen to him," said Van Gaal, as reported by the Mirror.
Van Gaal went on to slam United for their performance in the Manchester derby. Manchester United played out a stale 0-0 draw against their cross-town rivals. Van Gaal claimed that United performed like Manchester City's 'servants'. He said:
"All Man United did was defend with ten men. Everyone knows my relationship with Pep Guardiola, who is angry with me because I challenged him in my last book. But i enjoyed watching City more than United. I have far more sympathy for City than for United."
"Honestly United were just defending and hoping they can do a quick hit on the counter. United just defend and put up a couple of players up front who can run 100 metres in 9 seconds. Is that a world record? In the derby, United played as if they were City's servants."
Van Gaal's harsh comments are unlikely to phase Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has overseen a massive turn around in his side's fortunes in the Premier League in recent weeks.
Manchester United have won four of their last five games, and are currently in seventh place in the Premier League table having registered 23 points. They are currently eight points behind leaders Liverpool, but have played two games less.