Solskjaer urges dropped Man United stars to 'help the team' from the bench
Manchester United don’t have room for sulkers as they try to revive their season, says manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The United boss has been forced to leave out high-profile players like Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho in recent games in an attempt to arrest his team’s early-season slump.
Polo Hosea 
Solskjaer praised the attitude of ‘most’ of the players who have found themselves out of the team and urged them to take their opportunities when they arrive. United switched to a 5-3-2 formation for Saturday’s win at Tottenham, which meant leaving out a number of forwards as Solskjaer opted to partner Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo in attack.
Source: The Mirror, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
The Norwegian wouldn't be drawn on his tactics for United’s Group F tie away to Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday night, but called on his players to support each other wherever possible.
‘When you’re at a place like this, we’ve got so many players and we don’t have time for anyone to sulk or not give energy to the team,’ he said.
‘If you’re not in the starting XI, you’re there to support your teammates. You come on and do your best when you come on. If you don’t come on, then what’s the single most important thing you can do to help the team? And the attitude (at Tottenham) was spot on.
‘Yeah, I understand players want to play and nobody is happy when they don’t play. But the squad morale has been really good and it has to be really good. It can’t be that we’ve done one game now and then everyone is thinking about themselves, it’s a team before any individual.’
Source: The Mirror, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer amd Cristiano Ronaldo
In September, Solskjaer brushed off an incident involving Donny van de Beek when the Dutchman responded to being left on the bench in the win over Villarreal by hurling his chewing gum into the technical area.
On Monday, Solskjaer praised his squad for the way they have handled his team selection, adding that it said a lot about their character.
‘When you’ve got a fully-fit squad at Man United, there’s always going to be good quality players not playing,’ he said. ‘That’s been happening lately. Some players have had to make do with a place on the bench and you have to take your opportunities when you get it. I can’t fault the attitude and motivation also has to come from within.
‘That’s always going to happen at Man United. Players will go through difficult spells when they’re not playing and that’s when their character is revealed, and I’m pleased with most of mine.’
