Gary Neville has warned the next permanent Manchester United manager that the days of deviating from the club’s philosophy of attacking football are over.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s arrival as caretaker manager at Old Trafford has sparked new life into the Red Devils’ displays, with the club currently on a five-match winning run in the Premier League.
United’s defensive football under Jose Mourinho came in for criticism before his sacking in December, but Neville believes the Norwegian has restored a style that is in line with the club’s traditions.
"No one should ever be allowed to enter Manchester United's training ground or Old Trafford ever again to shape their own philosophy,” he told Sky Sports’ Gary Neville podcast.
“That is done. Manchester United's philosophy is so deep and so meaningful, it's like Barcelona's and it's like Ajax's. At Manchester United you play fast, attacking football in an entertaining way. You bring young players through and give them belief. And you win.
"To be honest with you, the third one sometimes goes in cycles. The winning actually comes as a result of doing the first two right. The third one doesn't always happen. Sometimes you can go years without winning trophies. You can go years without winning things and picking up titles.”
"No one should ever be allowed to enter Manchester United Football Club ever again and adopt a different philosophy to the one the club has.
"What Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done in a month, irrespective of the how the club do this season, has shown Manchester United that.
"I like watching it, that's it. I want to go to the ground again. About six to eight weeks ago there was a game in midweek and I stayed at home and watched it on television. I didn't want to go and there were many fans like that.
"We can't be in that position as Manchester United fans. We have to think 'there's a game on at Old Trafford and I want to go'. That's how Manchester United fans will be thinking now because when you watch Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba running from box to box like they are, you're electrified.”
‘After Manchester City’s recent form, maybe they’re the underdogs against Manchester United!’ Former Red Devils defender on this weekend’s derby
‘Arteta, Alonso, Emery, me… none of us were physical players – we needed the understanding of the game. That probably helped us move into management’: Premier League boss reveals reasons for natural career progression
