Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sends message to Manchester United duo Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has told Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez it is down to them to turn around their Manchester United careers. “I think you put it the wrong way, I cannot do anything for their performances on the pitch,” said Solskjaer. “Paul has done it himself. My chats with Anthony, Rom, Alexis, I’m here to keep them on the path and then it’s up to them to do it on the pitch. It’s up to them when they get a chance that’s the name of the game as a footballer, you’ve got to do it yourself. I gave some guidelines of course on expression, freedom of expression, but that’s how I’ve always been as a manager. “You can’t tell the players what to do in this position - just enjoy playing for this club. This is the best time of your life, but it’s not a bad time to be the manager for a while!” Solskjaer insists he does not know why the pair have struggled so much. “I cannot tell you,” he said. “I’ve just been looking at the team, so many good players and when you get these confident looking forward to games, we have a confident squad. But it’s a different thing when you’re fan on the outside. It’s easy to say he should be playing when you’re on the outside, but suddenly you end up with six forwards.”

Jurgen Klopp reveals his biggest scares he could expect from Arsenal