Manchester United told players 'lack belief' in damning verdict for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

The United boss has been blasted for the way in which he set up his side for their derby day defeat to Manchester City.

Manchester United’s players have been accused of lacking belief in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in a damning verdict for the United boss.

Solskjaer is facing more questions over his position after another poor performance as his side fell to a meek 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in the derby.

The loss came just a fortnight after their 5-0 humiliation at the hands of Liverpool, and after a summer making big-name signings in order to try and close the gap on their rivals, United already look well off the pace.

It’s a view that’s been backed up by their captain, with Harry Maguire stating after their derby day defeat that the players ‘lacked belief’ that they could recover from 1-0 down.

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Manchester United bounced back from a week of intense pressure by beating Spurs 3-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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Solskjaer looked visibly shocked when he was asked to respond to Maguire’s suggestion, and talkSPORT pundit Tony Cascarino fears the comment may have been even more damning than he would have first feared.

“I think what Harry Maguire was alluding to was belief in the way they’re trying to play, and that’s even worse,” Cascarino said.

“That’s not belief in me as an individual, I think you can go through difficult times, I’ve had many myself and I understand it when players don’t play well.

“There are a number of United players that are way below par, and probably don’t believe in actually what they’re trying to do, and how they hurt the opposition.”

The former Chelsea striker also didn’t hold back in his assessment of United’s performance against City, saying supporters should be “angry” with their side.

“Manchester United for me are not a club that should play any other way than going for the jugular and going after teams.

“People say ‘yeah, but they can’t win another way’. They can’t win against City in a counterattack style either.

“Now, they have beaten City in the past, they’ve had turnarounds, they did it once when they were 2-0 down and won 3-2.

“I’ve never seen a Manchester United team not go after you, not out-battle you, have better players technically – that’s what you face. You had a tin hat job, even if you were playing against quality opposition.

“The reason why I think United’s fans should be angry is because when Liverpool and Man City play each other, generally, it’s ding dong, they both have a go.

“They’re two really good sides. Man United are not doing that, they are not making it ding dong and have-a-go.

“When you’re relying on a couple of Ronaldo half-chances, which by the way he made the best out of, as a way of maybe getting a goal, that is not a derby. Yesterday’s performance for me stunk of a fear way of playing.”

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