Manchester United football director John Murtough has opened up on the club's decision to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The Norwegian was dismissed as United boss last month following a wretched run of four defeats in the club's last five Premier League outings.
That stretch included an ignominious 5-0 thrashing by Liverpool at Old Trafford, where Manchester City ran out comfortable 2-0 winners two weeks later.
The final straw was a 4-1 defeat by Watford, with Solskjaer sacked the very next day.
And Murtough has revealed that the United board was still behind the former Molde boss right up until that loss at Vicarage Road.
“It’s certainly been a turbulent period since we last met in September," he told a fans' forum.
We were all feeling optimistic at that time about the strong start to the season.
“There were grounds for confidence that we were going to continue building on the progress we saw in the prior two seasons.
“But after the promising early-season results, things went off plan.
“As a club, we felt Ole had earned the right to be given the chance to turn things round, but didn’t get a reaction after the international break, and the Watford game made it clear change was needed.
“We’re all disappointed at Ole’s departure, but he deserves to be judged on his record over the past three years, not his last few weeks.
“He re-set the club’s culture and reshaped the squad, leaving us in a stronger position today than when he returned in 2018.”
United appointed Michael Carrick as their caretaker boss following Solskjaer's sacking, before Ralf Rangnick took the reins until the end of the campaign.
And Murtough responded to accusations that United did not seem to have a post-Solskjaer plan.
"Out of respect for Ole, we did not approach other managers before he left," he added.
“Our plan then was to appoint an experienced interim manager and Ralf was our clear first choice. He’s someone I have admired for a long time, and we’re delighted he’s here.
“It’s early days but there were positive signs in the Palace game and there’s still lots to play for this season in the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.”
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