Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has lifted the lid on his time as manager at Manchester United, revealing that players "lacked the ambition" required at an elite club.
Sacked in November 2021, Solskjaer failed to win a trophy during his three years in charge at the club. However, the former Manchester United boss highlighted that certain players turned down the opportunity to captain the side for certain games.
Those players never directly told Solskjaer about their reluctance to don the armband, though, something the 51-year-old finds "petty".
"No one said 'No’ to being the club captain, it was just for certain games," Solskjaer said on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.
When pressed on whether players said "I don’t want to be captain for this match", Solskjaer provided an intriguing insight into the mindsets of his former players.
"Yes, but they didn’t want to say it themselves, they had other people come up to me and say it. It was disappointing. It’s a different generation, its Gen Z. It’s petty and shows a lack of ambition.”
The Norwegian continued, highlighting how players shied away from the spotlight during difficult moments at the club while also pointing to the individuals who fronted up and faced tough questions.
“Many players said no to doing the pre-match interviews, the three questions," Solskjaer added. "You had the go-to’s, Bruno Fernandes always did it, Harry Maguire always did it, Victor Lindelof] did it, David De Gea did it, Luke Shaw did it. The others were worried about the questions, so preferred not to do it.
“You’re scared of the whole reaction maybe, but you also understand some of the players’ mental health.”
Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville questioned why certain players would be turning down the honour of captaining the club, however.
"It makes me feel worried for them [the players] in the sense that, what state of mind are they in to actually turn down one of the greatest accolades you could have?" Neville said on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.
“I don’t think of it being weak, they must be in a bad place to be shrinking from the responsibility.”
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