Manchester United: Three things the Red Devils need to do to before the summer

With the arrival of interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United have bought themselves time to unravel the mess they are in. They have until the start of the summer to get their house in order.

In the end, it was classic third-season Jose Mourinho. The bitter, public fallout with the board, players and fans; the writing was on the wall well before the Portuguese manager was fired. Like a listless ship buffeted by an angry storm, Manchester United’s season lurched from one crisis to the next. A change had to be made.

With the appointment of club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ed Woodward has effectively dispelled a lot of the negativity that hung over the locker room. From his first interview, Solskjaer looked thrilled to be there, a stark contrast to the sullen mood of his predecessor. Whereas Mourinho had repeatedly demanded “respect” for himself, Solskjaer demanded that he and the players show respect to the club’s traditions.

Despite the invigorating win against Cardiff, however, the Norwegian remains a stop-gap. As his job title indicates, he is an interim manager, someone being given a free shot at the job as United salvage what is left of their shipwreck of a season.

In the meantime, there is plenty of work to be done before the summer rolls around.