By Dipo Olowookere
The top English football club, Manchester United, have sacked their manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, after a run of poor results.
The club in a statement confirmed this development on Sunday, thanking the manager, who is a legend of the club because of his exploits as a player, for his services.
Solskjaer gave a hint of his imminent sack on Saturday after a defeat to struggling Watford by 4-1 at Vicarage Road when he waved goodbye to the away side after the match.
While doing this, the club’s assistant captain, Bruno Fernandes, gestured to the United fans that the fault of the crisis in the dressing room was not the coach’s alone but the entire team.
This was echoed by the team’s shot-stopper, David De Gea, in his post-match reaction when he blamed the players too for the poor performances in recent games.
But it was very certain that the Watford game would be Solskjaer’s last in charge of the club and this was officially announced on Sunday in a statement.
The club further said a former player of the Man United and one of the backroom staff of Solskjaer, Michael Carrick, will take charge in the interim until a permanent manager is announced.
“Manchester United announces that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has left his role as manager.
“Ole will always be a legend at Manchester United and it is with regret that we have reached this difficult decision. While the past few weeks have been disappointing, they should not obscure all the work he has done over the past three years to rebuild the foundations for long-term success.
“Ole leaves with our sincerest thanks for his tireless efforts as Manager and our very best wishes for the future.
“His place in the club’s history will always be secure, not just for his story as a player, but as a great man and a Manager who gave us many great moments. He will forever be welcome back at Old Trafford as part of the Manchester United family.
“Michael Carrick will now take charge of the team for forthcoming games, while the club looks to appoint an interim manager to the end of the season,” the statement disclosed.
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