Ole Gunnar Solskjær addresses Erik ten Hag’s PR problem at Man United and ‘dangerous’ change

Ole Gunnar Solskjær has opened up on the issues at Manchester United with the PR agencies, which now impact current manager Erik ten Hag.

Solskjær, 50, was in charge at Old Trafford for three years after his brilliant playing career for the club, where he would score one of the most important goals in United’s history.

The Norweigan knew the feel of the club but has since admitted that many things had changed between the times he was on the pitch and on the sidelines.

One of those aspects has been the communication with players. Solskjær cited the difficulties that PR agencies now bring, and Ten Hag has witnessed that through some of the difficulties he’s faced off the field.

A lack of communication led to the issue with Jadon Sancho, who has since moved on loan to Borussia Dortmund.

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“It’s completely different, the way you talk to them… everyone has PR agencies and all these,” Solskjær said. “Back in the day, if Sir Alex Ferguson wanted to speak to me, he rang my phone and he spoke to me or we spoke on the training ground.

“Now, we have to go through different agents and management, which I find strange because football is a game played by people, managed by people, and you need to be able to speak together, to connect, to get the best out of each other… and to trust each other.”

That is not the only issue of the modern game that Solskjær is not a fan of. The manager was often criticised for his comments on the mentality and hard work of the team, with less emphasis on his ‘tactical style’ when speaking to the media.

Solskjær is a firm believer that footballers do not need to be puppets of a manager. He believes that it is ‘dangerous’ that so many coaches are telling players ‘exactly what to do’ from a young age.

“Football is now more prescribed,” he added. “Many more coaches tell players exactly what to do from academy age, which sometimes is a bit… dangerous, you know? Because I always believe when you are out there on the pitch, you as a creative player have to make a decision.

“Yeah, we have a framework to work from, and we all look for these things, but… the decision-making on the pitch is what would make the difference. If you have players who are not capable of seeing different things, you coach them and say this is what you do: you win the ball, you give it to (for example) Bruno, he will create…”