Usain Bolt slammed 'soft' Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the club's biggest problem
- Usain Bolt says watching Manchester United is "rough," and that "soft" Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the biggest problem at the club.
- United is currently enduring its worst ever season in the English Premier League, sitting ninth in the table and 41 points behind leaders Liverpool FC.
- "I think [Solskjaer] is too soft," Bolt told Business Insider. "He's always saying something positive, everyday. Even when we lose and it makes no sense."
- The nine-time Olympic champion however says there has been a silver lining this term in the form of midfielder Scott McTominay.
- "He really impresses me. You can see he wants to be good, and he wants to play hard, and he wants to be the best."
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Usain Bolt has been a Manchester United fan since watching Ruud van Nistelrooy fire the club to the English Premier League title in 2003, but when asked about the current situation at Old Trafford, he put his heads into his hands and sighed.
"I really don't know what to say about it," the world's fastest man told Business Insider last week.
"I really don't know what I say, man. It's rough just watching and supporting now."
United is currently enduring its worst domestic season in English Premier League history, sitting ninth in the top flight on 36 points, a massive 41 points behind league leaders Liverpool FC.
Not since the inaugural season of 1992/93 has the club amounted such a miserable points total at this point in a campaign, and its current form, three defeats in the last five games, suggest little hope of a late season resurgence towards the top four.
Fingers have been pointed at everyone from the club's CEO, Ed Woodward, to its owners, The Glazers, and of course the players, mostly notably midfielder Paul Pogba, who has struggled to prove himself worth the $116 million United paid Juventus for him in 2016.
Bolt, however, believes the blame instead lies with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who since taking over as head coach from Jose Mourinho in December 2018, boasts the worst win rate of any United manager in over three decades.
"I think Solskjaer needs to demand more, I think he's too soft," he said. "I think that's the biggest problem, because we do have a decent team, you know what I mean. It's not a team to win the league, but we should be in the top four.
"We have beaten all the top teams except Liverpool, and we took points off them too, [but] we lose to the smaller teams.
"When they don't play well, he needs to be tough on them, you know, let them know that they need to be better. He's always saying something positive, everyday. Even when we lose it's something positive, and it makes no sense."
United next face Chelsea on Monday night
A win at Stamford Bridge against Frank Lampard's men will propel United into seventh place, ahead of both Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
And while Chelsea is currently fourth in the table, form favors the visitors, who have beaten Chelsea twice already this term.
United thrashed Chelsea 4-0 at Old Trafford on the opening day of the season, before knocking it out of the League Cup with a 2-1 triumph in late October.
Should Solskjaer and his side come out on top for the third time this campaign however, they will have to do so without a number of key players, including Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba, who are both sidelined through injury.
One man Bolt says been a silver lining for United this term, Scott McTominay, will also miss out with a knee problem.
"McTominay," the nine time Olympic gold medalist said when asked who, if anyone, has stood out for him this season. "He really impresses me."
"You can see he wants to be good, and he wants to play hard, and he wants to be the best. That's why he's injured, because he plays so hard. I appreciate that."
Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is at 8 p.m GMT (3 p.m. ET).
Usain Bolt spoke to Business Insider at the launch of his partnership with online gambling firm Ganapati.
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