Man Utd under pressure: Solskjaer braced for make-or-break season after Sancho and Varane signings

From his hotel room at St Andrew's last week, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was able to watch amateur golfers teeing off on the Old Course's notoriously difficult 17th hole.

The Manchester United manager is no golfer but he knows more than most about pressure, and how it ramps up in the closing stages of any competition.

His primary objective this season is to still be in contention going into the final rounds of this season's Premier League title race. 

It won't be easy, of course, but United may have made two high-quality summer signings, in the form of Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, and Solskjaer feels that his squad is now better equipped to go the distance. 

Starting well will be key too, though.

Titleholders Manchester City and European champions Chelsea have both strengthened significantly themselves during the off-season. Both are expected to hit the ground running and Solskjaer knows that United cannot afford to be left behind.

“I read somewhere that [City boss] Pep Guardiola said that you can’t win the league in the first eight games, but you can lose the chance to win it and that’s what happened to us last season," the Norwegian told reporters. "I felt we lost too many points early on."

United’s pre-season last summer was "unique", as Solskjaer put it. There was just a four-week break between the Europa League semi-final defeat to Sevilla and their Premier League opener at Old Trafford against Crystal Palace, leaving room to squeeze in only one friendly, against Aston Villa. 

Solskjaer’s side won just two of their opening six games and were humiliated 6-1 at home by Tottenham.

He may have just put pen to paper on a new three-year deal but the Old Trafford icon knows that a similarly sluggish start this time around would prompt calls from certain quarters for him to be sacked.

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“There is always pressure here to win the league and to win trophies,” Solskjaer said. "For me, it’s the pressure I put on myself and the pressure the team put on themselves to achieve the best you can.

"That the board also wanted to extend my contract is proof that we are going in the right direction but we have to keep on moving in the right direction.

“For me, you have to do well enough to stay anyway. It doesn’t matter if you have a 10-year contract or a one year contract; if you don’t do well, off you go.” 

Still, Solskjaer doesn't look like a main feeling the strain of managing one of the biggest clubs in world football. He has cut a relaxed figure in pre-season.

He seemed to enjoy speaking to reporters again in person, after being restricted to video calls last season because of the affects of the pandemic. 

His one frustration was that the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions meant that he could only wave to fans from a distance at United's St Andrew's base last week, rather than stop, chat, sign autographs and take selfies. 

Solskjaer is clearly looking forward to something resembling a return to normality and hoping that United can finally land that first trophy of his tenure.

“There is plenty of cause for optimism and excitement ahead of the new season," he wrote in his programme notes ahead of the final pre-season friendly against Everton. "We are all ready to take the next step in our journey."

Of course, a lot of that optimism has been generated by the arrivals of Sancho, who started training on Monday, and Varane, who completed his medical the following day. And the speed at which those transfers were completed has been partly credited to the club's new-look recruitment team.

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While executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and director of football negotiations Matt Judge were the driving forces behind the deals, the newly appointed John Murtough (football director) and Darren Fletcher (technical director) both played major roles.

“John and Fletch are doing a very good job,” Solskjaer said. “The whole system has worked. We’ve identified the players early on and with Jadon, we spoke about him 12 months ago at least. John and Fletch coming in has been a big plus.”

Varane's acquisition is particularly important. Last season's title challenge was undone by defensive vulnerability, with United conceding 44 times in 38 games. 

The addition of a World Cup winner who also has four Champions League titles to his name should clearly help bolster the backline, but new coach Eric Ramsay could also make a big impact.

He joined from Chelsea this summer to work on player development and, most importantly, set-pieces. Remember, United shipped 22 goals from free-kicks and corners in 2020-21.

Of course, while United have taken shrewd steps to get their own house in order, they cannot control what their rivals are doing.

City have already landed Jack Grealish for a British-record fee of £100 million and could yet add Tottenham striker Harry Kane to an already stellar squad, while Chelsea have brought Romelu Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge.

"Of course you pay attention and you notice that there’s big money being spent somewhere else,” Solsjkaer admitted. "You have to keep up with the challenges. Anyone who ends up above last year’s champions will be champions."

He has to ensure United are that team. The season has yet to begin but the pressure is already well and truly on.