Former Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic believes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deserved more time at the club before he was sacked.

Solskjaer was in charge at Old Trafford from December 2018 to November 2021, winning 51 of 109 Premier League games (D29 L24) and averaging 1.81 points per game.

Although he failed to win any silverware with the Red Devils, he guided the club to the Europa League final in 2021, the semi-finals of the EFL Cup and FA Cup, and a second-place finish in the league.

He did win the Premier League Manager of the Month award in January 2019, becoming the first United boss to do so since Alex Ferguson in October 2012, after winning 10 points from a possible 12.

Matic, who played under Solskjaer in Manchester, insisted that the Norwegian did better than perceived in the media.

“We finished second and third under him,” Matic told FourFourTwo.

“There was an atmosphere in the team that we weren't happy finishing second, but when you see the results now, we did amazingly.  

“I think Ole deserved more time – and when I say Ole, I also want to mention his staff, like Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna. They were going the right way to bring United back.

“Of course, they made the decision to sack Ole based on his final couple of results, but he was an amazing person with the right profile for the club. He and his assistants understood football – training was perfect and had every little detail ready for us.  

“I felt sorry because Ole was a great guy and we were on the way to doing something big. I wasn't his first choice in the midfield and never liked a coach when I didn't play - I'd fight with them.

“But Ole was the first coach I didn't fight with. He brought the players who weren't in the starting XI together. He knew the club and the fans loved him.”