Ole Gunnar Solskjaer “should be gone” at Manchester United, says Paul Parker, with an eighth-place finish representing the height of the club’s ambition.
The Red Devils have climbed to sixth in the Premier League table on the back of a 2-1 win over Tottenham and former boss Jose Mourinho, but consistency remains an issue.
With the English top-flight bunching up outside of the top four, that could prove to be an issue for the 13-time champions.
Parker fears that may prove to be the case, with the former Red Devils defender telling talkSPORT: “Can they finish eighth?
“You have to look where they are at this moment in time, the games where they’ve dropped points and people may say even then they won’t finish eighth. They’ve given away soft points.”
Solskjaer, despite being a club legend at Old Trafford, is considered to be part of the problem for United, rather than a solution.
Questions have been asked of his ongoing presence in the dugout on a regular basis, with Parker considering the Norwegian to be a little fortunate to still be in a job.
He added: “All the stats say that he [Solskjaer] shouldn’t be in a job and other managers may have slightly better stats.
“I think I know and everyone else knows that he should be gone but I look at what can happen next and I don’t see any different that can happen from when Jose Mourinho arrived.
“It’s all about what’s happening above in and around that club. It’s still not a good environment for a top manager to come into.
“There needs to be a football-orientated person to take control of the buying and selling of players.”
Getty ImagesVarious options have been mooted for United to consider, with it suggested that the sudden availability of former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino could see Solskjaer fall under ever-increasing pressure.
Parker, though, is not convinced that the highly-rated Argentine would be right for a demanding post which would see him granted little time.
He said of the South American: “I like Pochettino. I like what he did at Spurs and everything about what he does. I like his signings and the way he wants to play but the problem is I don’t think he’s going to get all that if he goes to Manchester United.
“People will say ‘he needs some time’. He’s not going to get time. People will be on to him saying ‘you did this at Spurs, do this here. We want it now.’
“Football’s a very now, now, now scenario and it’s become lose-lose, sack-sack.”