Manchester United’s backroom staff should feel ‘GUILTY’ about their roles in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking, insists Paul Scholes – who also says the coaches, including Michael Carrick, ‘shouldn’t be at the club now’
- Manchester United sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the defeat at Watford
- His coaching staff, including caretaker boss Michael Carrick, remain for now
- Paul Scholes has insisted all of Solskjaer’s backroom team should feel ‘guilty’
- The likes of Carrick and Kieran McKenna oversaw training instead of Solskjaer
- Scholes also believes that Carrick could have turned down the temporary job
Paul Scholes believes Manchester United’s coaching staff should feel ‘guilty’ about the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the fact they still remain at the club.
Solskjaer was axed at the weekend in the wake of the damaging defeat at Watford, but his backroom team – including caretaker boss Michael Carrick – remained.
Their long-term futures at Old Trafford are uncertain with the search for a new manager underway, and Sportsmail has reported they are owed a hefty pay-out.
Manchester United’s backroom staff should be guilty, club legend Paul Scholes has insisted
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked after the defeat at Watford, but his coaches remain for now
But while they survived the culling, Scholes has insisted that the coaches let down Solskjaer after the club legend placed his ‘trust’ in them to lead training sessions.
Speaking on BT Sport, he said: ‘I get the impression with Ole that he put a lot of trust into Michael [Carrick]. He put a lot of trust into Kieran [McKenna]. He put a lot of trust into Mike Phelan. Which is why they shouldn’t be at the club now, I don’t think.
‘I’ve got big friends. Michael’s a good friend, Darren Fletcher, I’ve worked with Mike Phelan, I’ve worked with these people. I just think if I was in their position now, I’d be feeling guilty working at this football club still, while Ole put so much trust in them.’
Michael Carrick has been put in charge temporarily while United hunt for Solskjaer’s successor
In a surprise move, United handed Solskjaer’s coaching staff new three-year contracts just weeks before bringing the axe down on their former manager.
Sportsmail revealed that assistant Mike Phelan put pen to paper last month, and he was followed by Carrick, McKenna and goalkeeping coach Richard Hartis.
Now Solskjaer has been fired, it is likely the new boss will bring in their own staff, meaning compensation totalling in the millions will be owed to the current coaches.
Sources say that the extensions were thrashed out in the summer, when Solskjaer signed his own deal, but it took time for the finer details to be agreed.
Scholes insists that none of Solskjaer’s former coaches should have been allowed to stay put
Kieran McKenna (right) and Carrick took the lead over training sessions instead of Solskjaer
Carrick is facing leaving the club in the near future, and Scholes is also adamant that their decorated ex-midfielder could have turned down the temporary job.
Quizzed on whether it was possible to have said no, Scholes added: ‘I think you do when you’ve been employed by a manager and been given so much responsibility by the manager. Ole is more of a manager than an actual coach.
‘I can understand if you’re working for a coach who controls everything, like [Antonio] Conte. He controls everything on the training pitch, he picks the team – Pep Guardiola is the same.
‘But if you’re Ole, a man manager more than a coach, he’s trusting Michael to prepare his team. He’s trusting Kieran, I think more. He’s giving them big responsibility.
Carrick could even have turned down the caretaker job after Solskjaer left, Scholes also said
‘They all need to take responsibility for the performances you’ve been seeing on the football pitch. What is going to change tonight? It comes down to preparation. Ole losing his job… the preparation has not happened.’
Meanwhile, United have held talks with Ernesto Valverde over becoming their new manager on an interim basis.
Valverde, who enjoyed a successful spell coaching Barcelona, is on the shortlist should the club fail to prise Mauricio Pochettino away from Paris Saint-Germain.
