OFFICIAL: Ole Gunnar Solskjær sacked by Manchester United

Ole Gunnar Solskjær has been sacked as Manchester United manager. Overnight reports suggested that the Norwegian was on borrowed time, and an official club statement on Sunday morning confirmed that the 48-year-old had been given the boot following an embarrassing 4-1 defeat away at struggling Watford.

The official statement declared that “Ole will always be a legend at Manchester United and it is with regret that we have reached this difficult decision”. It thanked Solskjær for his work in rebuilding “the foundations for long-term success”, and confirmed his legacy “not just for his story as a player, but as a great man and a Manager who gave us many great moments.”

More consequentially, it revealed that Michael Carrick had been placed in immediate charge of first-team affairs while the club sets about appointing an interim manager for the remainder of the season. That suggests that the United chiefs are willing to be patient — probably a wise move given the dearth of top managers currently on the job market.

There have previously been rumours that United might consider a veteran coach like Ralf Rangnick on an interim basis, and the club certainly could do worse (like giving it to Carrick full-time). Zinedine Zidane is currently the bookies’ favourite to become next permanent United boss, with Brendan Rodgers, Erik ten Hag, Laurent Blanc and Mauricio Pochettino also in the running.