TheCable

Manchester United has appointed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the club’s new interim manager.

The club sacked Jose Mourinho on Tuesday after a below-par start to the season.

Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at Liverpool proved the final straw for United chiefs, with the club trailing their rivals by 19 points after 17 games.

Barely 24 hours after letting the 52-year-old Portuguese off, they acted swiftly by appointing Solskjaer till the end of 2018/19 season.

The Red Devils’ confirmed this in a statement on Wednesday: “Manchester United announced today that former striker Ole Gunnar Solskjær has been appointed as caretaker manager until the end of the 2018/19 season.

“Solskjær will take charge of the first team with immediate effect and will remain in place while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new full-time manager. Mike Phelan will join him in the dugout.

“He will be joined by Mike Phelan as first-team coach, working alongside Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna.”

Solskjær responded to his appointment thus: “Manchester United is in my heart and it’s brilliant to be coming back in this role. I’m really looking forward to working with the very talented squad we have, the staff and everyone at the club.”

The Norwegian netted 128 times in 367 games for United before becoming their reserve-team boss after retiring in 2007.