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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he’s not ‘blind or deaf’ and accepts criticism after Man City defeat as Manchester United boss insists club are ‘better than this’

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits he understands criticism levelled at him after Manchester United suffered a dismal 2-0 defeat at home to Man City.

Just two weeks after being hammered 5-0 by Liverpool, the Old Trafford faithful witnessed another dire display and booed the Red Devils off the pitch.

Two goals did not reflect City’s utter dominance as the gap between United and their so-called Premier League title rivals was exposed once again.

Solskjaer’s side had just four touches in the opposition box, their lowest since records began in 2008, and pressure will once again mount on the Norwegian over the upcoming international break.

He told talkSPORT: “I understand the critics, of course. We’ve lost two games against Liverpool and City and we weren’t close to winning either of them. I’m not blind or deaf, I’ve seen what’s happened.

“But I believe in myself, my coaching staff, we have incredible coaching staff with incredible attention to detail. We need to start believing we can do it.

“Players, staff, fans, everyone. This club will always bounce back and against Watford we will be ready.”

He added: “Human beings, we are easy creatures. Playing well, that’s the only way footballers can get their confidence back. If we go to Watford, start winning, that’s got to be the turning point for us this season.”

When asked what it was like in the dressing room, he responded: “What do you reckon?

“It’s about them coming back with belief and energy. Go away, do well with your national teams, make sure you come back with new, fresh energy.

“Let’s start looking like the team we were starting to become. Because we are not that type of team, that’s not us, we are better than that and we will be better than that.”

Roy Keane delivered a typically damning assessment of the United squad, particularly Fred, but Solskjaer refused to single out any of his players.

The United manager also suggested the Liverpool defeat was perhaps to blame for such a timid display, despite positive results against Tottenham and Atalanta in the week since.

Solskjaer added: “The players’ attitude and approach, I can’t fault them. Sometimes the opposition makes it hard and that’s the reason we stand talking about this.

“We didn’t create chances in the second-half, there were 20 minutes when we had more of the ball, but they are a good team and to beat the best teams around, we have to be at our best.

“We’re not better than that at the moment.”

He continued: “Players have probably been damaged by the last time we were here, which is understandable because we’re human beings.

“Even after the good week we had last week, maybe some of those memories came back.

“We had to be more aggressive and make it harder for them to play, we sat off too much.”