Manchester United: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer still the man for us despite recent defeats, says Nemanja Matic

Defeats by Arsenal and Wolves, in the Premier League and FA Cup respectively, have seen United’s momentum dip after a blitzing start under the Norwegian

Nemanja Matic believes that Manchester United’s back-to-back defeats against Arsenal and Wolves should not dissuade the club from hiring Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on a permanent basis.

After the Norwegian stepped in to replace Jose Mourinho last December, United went on to secure 10 wins from 11 games under the ex-forward.

A famous night in Paris followed where the side overturned a two-goal deficit against Paris Saint-Germain to reach the Champions League quarter-finals, despite being hindered by multiple first-team injuries.

But defeats by Arsenal and Wolves, in the Premier League and FA Cup respectively, have seen United’s momentum dip after a blitzing start.

Nonetheless, Matic has insisted that Solskjaer remains the right man for the Old Trafford job.

“I want Ole to stay,” the Serbian said after Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final defeat. “He is a great manager, very positive and the club will decide.

“When you win 10 games that means a lot because it is not easy. We have lost the last two away to Arsenal and Wolves. I am not making an excuse but we have lost to two good sides.”

Of the defeat at Molineux, where goals from Raul Jimenez and Diogo Jota fired the hosts to victory, Matic said: “I don’t think that we played bad but we have to be more clinical in the last third.

“They let us have possession in the first half, let us have the ball but they showed they are very dangerous on the counter attack and they score the second goal like that.

“We are sad we are out of the FA Cup, we gave everything but they were the better side and deserved to win.”

For now, attention switches to the Premier League and Champions League as United push for a top-four finish and European glory.

“There is a lot to play for,” he said. “We have eight games to play in the Premier League and we are fighting for the top four. We have the Champions League as well. We will see what we are able to do and how much quality we have. We have to learn from this type of game.

“Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham will give their best to be in the top four. Everybody knows that. If you see two months ago we were 11 pints behind Chelsea and now we are in a much better position. We have eight finals to play for us so we have to learn from this.

“We will analyse this game to see where we made mistakes and see what we can do better. I am sure he (Solskjaer) will turn this situation around and we will do better.”