Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 'embarrassed' being applauded after Manchester United defeat to Cardiff
"It's near embarrassing when you walk off the pitch clapping them and get the support we have," says United boss
Sunday 12 May 2019 20:51, UK
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he was "embarrassed" by Manchester United's fans clapping their players after their 2-0 defeat by Cardiff at Old Trafford.
At the end of a desperately disappointing season for the club, United slumped to a new low on the final day of the Premier League when they were beaten by the already-relegated Cardiff.
United lost for the eighth time in 12 games as Nathaniel Mendez-Laing's brace for Cardiff ensured they finished sixth in the Premier League, 32 points behind champions Man City.
Solskjaer is aware that bridging that gap will prove a sizeable hurdle, but he's confident his side can bounce back next season.
"We're not a club which should end up sixth," Solskjaer told Sky Sports.
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"That's where we are at the moment, but we're ready for it, the fans, supporters today too.
"It's near embarrassing when you walk off the pitch clapping them and get the support we have. That's the base of this club, the foundation is so great, we'll come back again.
"You never know where we'll end up, but clearly we're sixth, that's not where we want to be," he added. "It's about a settled team, settled system, getting players fit, there's loads of different factors.
"There's good players here who have gone through a difficult season, there's different reasons that they haven't had good seasons. It might be their fault, our fault, or the club's fault, everyone will look at themselves and say they can do better."
Solskjaer, whose side could start their 2019-20 campaign in the Europa League towards the end of July depending on the outcome of the FA Cup final, has already set his sights on a top-four spot and a domestic trophy next term.
"We're used to challenging for the Premier League and that's not going to be sorted quickly," he said. "Realistically you're not going to catch however many points - we're 32 points behind the top teams.
"We've got to realistically challenge for the top four and another trophy."
'Big summer ahead'
Solskjaer admitted there's a big summer ahead for everyone at United, but the Norwegian says he is ready to take on the challenge.
"We've got to find ourselves again, that's why I've come in," he said.
"We're working extremely hard now, but we just hit a brick wall towards the end. They've had an up and down season, we had a great run around Christmas, but towards the end, we didn't do enough.
"Let's see when our season starts, we've got to take that challenge head on," he added. "We know what we have to work on, the players have got the message quite clearly as well.
"The summer's going to be a big one for the club, the players, and me."
