Manchester United vs Manchester City: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says his side lack consistency to challenge rivals
United meet their neighbours at Old Trafford on Wednesday night amid a slump in form
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Your support makes all the difference.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does not believe that Manchester United have not yet shown the consistency required to challenge Manchester City next season.
United meet their neighbours at Old Trafford on Wednesday night amid a slump in form, having lost six of their last eight matches in all competitions.
Since Solskjaer’s arrival in December, only City and Liverpool have picked up more than United’s total of 38 Premier League points.
But the optimism that the Norwegian initially brought to the club has gradually ebbed away, with Sunday’s 4-0 defeat to Everton the worst of his reign so far.
United sit in sixth, three points adrift of the top four and need positive results from home games against City and Chelsea this coming week.
A return to the Champions League is certainly the upper limit of their ambitions this season and, without a significant improvement, could be next term too.
When asked whether United could compete with champions City and current leaders Liverpool this time next year, he was sceptical.
“I don't think we've got the consistency to do that,” Solskjaer said, though he refused to rule anything out.
“Over the last 18 games, we're not far away from them but it's doing it over the course of a season. We've done it for half a season now. Let's see. You can never say never.
Solskjaer added: “You cannot expect things to happen overnight and we know that. It will happen gradually and we have to be realistic enough as a club that we have to take it step by step.
“That's not changing 10 players now and bringing 10 players in. It's slowly, slowly but surely. It has to be the right quality, right personality, the right standards to get us back to where we want to be.”
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