3 challenges facing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been named Manchester United’s caretaker manager. These are the challenged facing him.

Sacking Jose Mourinho was the first step for Manchester United to get back to their winning ways. The club has been lousy for the better part of the past four months. The appointment of former United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as caretaker manager on Wednesday is enough of a shakeup to try and get the club back to winning.

There remain some very real challenges for this United squad. Solskjaer has very little time ahead of Saturday’s league game against Cardiff to implement a system. The busy Christmas period, an unforgiving time for even the best teams, will be a test for this beleaguered side.

There is still plenty to play for, including trying to finish in the top four and competing in the Champions League. For United, Solskjaer’s arrival is a real chance to hit the reset button. With that, here are three things he quickly needs to address in order to get the club on the path to success.

3. Make Paul Pogba the team’s centerpiece

The animosity between Mourinho and the French midfielder was well documented. With Mourinho gone, Pogba is in an excellent position to become the fulcrum of this team. One of the most talented players in the world, there’s no reason Pogba can’t be a leader on and off the field.

Pogba had a wonderful World Cup. It’s that marquee player United need to reintegrate into the lineup. Mourinho had relegated him to the sidelines during his final days at the helm. It’s up to Pogba to show his new coach that he’s up for the task, and for Solskjaer to find a way to make him the centerpiece of his midfield and attack.

2. Shore up the defense

United have been a mess in the back this season. Among the priorities is to find a way to make sure the backline, which has conceded 29 goals in the league so far, improves. To put that stat into perspective, that’s one more than they gave up during the entire 2017-18 season.

United goalkeeper David De Gea, arguably the team’s best player last season, has made a series of unusual blunders this year. That’s mostly due to the constant change in the players in front of him. Solskjaer will need to settle on a back four (or three, depending on his tactics) with a regular center-back to ensure this team stops conceding so much going forward.

1. Start Marcus Rashford up top

Mourinho often played defensive soccer and deployed his men like a mid-table club. This needs to change. United need to be bolder and more offensive. This is where Pogba can be of great help. Perhaps the bigger decision comes up front, though, where Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku both present different options.

Both are wonderful strikers, but this is where Rashford, who is only 21, could get his big chance, especially given Solksjaer’s past links with the Red Devils’ youth system. At the same time, he may want to hit the January transfer market and bring in some reinforcements to try and shake things up.