Pep Guardiola defends Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ahead of derby

Solskjaer has come under pressure after United’s Champions League exit

Pep Guardiola and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Manchester United via Getty Imag)

Pep Guardiola believes that the pressure Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is facing at Manchester United is part and parcel of being a manager and that he is strong enough to withstand the scrutiny.

Guardiola’s Manchester City travel to Old Trafford for the season’s first Manchester derby on Saturday, just days after United were knocked out of the Champions League by a 3-2 defeat to RB Leipzig.

Solskjaer retains the backing of the United hierarchy and goes into the derby ahead of City in the Premier League table for the first time, while Guardiola believes that pressure is something that all managers have to contend with at one point or another.

“We know it, that’s why we get a lot of salary for these situations,” the City manager said.  

“It’s important to know the value of Solskjaer is there. There’s no doubt about this. I don’t have to give him support.  

Read more: Why Manchester United’s derby blueprint may not work against new-look Man City

“He’s strong enough, he knows how it works, this job. When we win we are a genius and when we lose we have to be sacked.  

“It happened at United and all the clubs around the world. It is the reality.”

Guardiola does not believe that United’s midweek disappointment gives City an advantage and if anything is expecting Solskjaer and his players to respond.

“[We prepare] thinking we are going to face the best version and especially talk a lot about what we are going to do,” he said.

“It’s not a knock-out game, it is three more points - important of course because of the quality of the opponent, but there are a lot of fixtures to come and we try to win our games.”