Manchester United boss to get a new contract and pay rise

“Ole’s at the wheel”, says a much-loved Manchester United chant. And Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer will remain at the wheel of the Old Trafford club. This may come as a bit of a surprise considering the fact that he hasn’t won any trophies since becoming the boss in late 2018. However, steady progress the team has been making under his stewardship was enough for the club’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to keep the former Cardiff City and Molde boss.

Confidence in manager: Ed Woodward (©AFP)

The Norwegian brought some stability to the club that was looking rather lost ever since their long-serving manager Sir Alex Ferguson left his post in 2013. David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho all came and failed to bring the title. Van Gaal won an FA Cup and Mourinho led the team to a Europa League trophy, but the last Premier League title remains the one won by Ferguson in 2012/13 season.

Is stability alone enough for such a big club? Probably not. But Woodward believes that Solskjaer is the man to go the distance and put the club back at the top of English football. It’s not going to be easy because the competition is stronger than ever. Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea all have title credentials and Arsenal seem on the cusp of something great under Mikel Arteta. It’s not going to be easy to increase the tally of 20 championships.

United on a mission to seal the deal with one of the finest gems from Simeone's nest

Competition is something for Solskjaer to worry about, but at least he won’t have to worry about money. His $10.5million-per-year contract will be boosted to around $14million per year. Not bad for the man who was relegated with Cardiff City and was sacked by the Welsh club in 2014 after only nine months in charge.

Solskjaer will be offered a new two-year contract, regardless of whether he wins any trophies this season, citing the progress that has been made under the Norwegian.

But progress without silverware is nothing, according to United legend Gary Neville. The former captain and Ole-Gunnar’s team-mate recently said that Solskjaer must win a trophy this season in order to stay on as the club’s manager. After crashing out of the FA Cup with a defeat to Leicester City last week, Manchester United’s only chance of winning a trophy this season is the Europa League, the competition they reached the final eight. They say football is a game of opinions, but Neville’s opinion is just that – he isn’t the one who’s making the decisions at Old Trafford.

Manchester United are currently second in the Premier League with nine games remaining. If they manage to fend off the late challenge of Leicester and Chelsea, they will indeed make a progress compared to last season’s third place in the league. The Norwegian coach has been credited with bringing the best out of the players at his disposal, something that was lacking in recent years for United. If he continues to do so, bringing a trophy shouldn’t be that far off.