Cristiano Ronaldo has attempted to rally the Manchester United dressing room in their time of crisis.
Sources say Ronaldo is holding the dressing room together and he has encouraged teammates to support beleaguered manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Ronaldo advised the United players to not down tools, irrespective of what they thought of Solskjaer’s tactics, until an eventual change of manager.
United have resisted sacking Solskjaer mainly because they have no succession plan for the Norwegian, who will take charge at Tottenham on Sunday.
A number of United platers have lost faith in Solskjaer. His selections have baffled the players since the start of the season when he started Daniel James against Wolves two days before he was sold to Leeds United for £25million.
Some players were stunned Solskjaer named an unchanged team for the drubbing by Liverpool on Sunday and Jesse Lingard’s lack of playing time has mystified players. Donny van de Beek’s training performances have impressed teammates but the £40million midfielder has played five minutes in the Premier League all season.
United figures belatedly expressed support for Solskjaer on Tuesday afternoon – 48 hours after the Liverpool match – as he prepares to manage the club for the 165th time at Tottenham.