Butt says Solskjaer ‘love’ not enough for Man Utd fans
Nicky Butt admits the Manchester United fans’ “love” for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer won’t be enough to keep him in the job for long.
Butt left the United setup in March having spent nine years in various coaching roles, working under Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
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The former United midfielder had kind words to say about those managers in his interview with The Athletic, including Solskjaer, but says the Norwegian boss has to win trophies if he is to retain his job as the United fans’ patience will only stretch so far.
“Things are getting better and Ole has done a very good job,” Butt said.
“There’s a lot of love for Ole from fans, but that only takes you so far with fans.
“The biggest challenge for Ole now is to go and produce — to win a title or trophies. He’ll know that deep down, he’s a very intelligent guy.
“It’s a business that needs to win and there has been huge investment into that business so it’s calling out to win.”
Butt’s last role at the club was as head of first-team development, and he told The Athletic that he left the club as he couldn’t see what his “next step” would be.
He said: “My first job was assistant coach of the reserves with Warren Joyce. I managed the reserves when Joycey left, then I was the academy manager. Then I went to head of first-team development. From there, I couldn’t see where my next step was.”
He claims his departure wasn’t down to any one thing in particular, but a building “irritation”.
He added: “When I get frustrated in a role or a job, as I did, I’m a different kind of person. I become irritable, not happy. I blame everybody else. The same thing happened to me as a player. When I start getting that feeling, I need to get out.
“As a player, I saw people I thought I was better than — in fact, I knew was better than — playing rather than me and that made me miserable. I wasn’t happy with my training, I would come home miserable. It was time to leave United as a player and that’s why I spoke to the manager then.
“This time, I was getting irritated about some of the stuff going on at the club. I felt irritable within myself. I needed to change. Most people don’t leave Man United unless they have something lined up.
“I had nothing lined up. I just knew my personality, how I react to things and that it was time to leave. I didn’t know where my next step was at the club. I wanted to evolve and one day I woke up and thought, ‘This isn’t for me anymore.’ If I’d stayed, it would have gone one way which would have been bad.”
