Ed Woodward is confident that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would succeed at Old Trafford.
Manchester United vice-chairman Ed Woodward is confident that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would become a huge success at Old Trafford.
The Norwegian has been enduring a tough spell since taking over a permanent basis and results have been hard to come by. United’s last away victory came against Paris Saint Germain in mid-February and they have been struggling to pick up results on road.
Despite the Red Devils’ poor displays on the field, the club has managed to announce a record revenue of £627.1 million, with profit just above £50 million throughout last season.
The record Premier League Champions tasted a 2-0 loss in the weekend to West Ham United, but Ed Woodward is confident about Solskjaer’s roadmap to put them back on the map once again.
“We and our growing fanbase demand success,” said Ed Woodward.
“Success means winning trophies. That target and that standard has never changed for Manchester United. The progress we have made on the business side underpins the continued investment in the football side.
“Much of the progress made around that investment, in the academy, the recruitment department and the training ground facilities, is behind the scenes and therefore isn’t immediately apparent to those on the outside looking in.
“For example, we’ve materially expanded our recruitment department in recent years, to increase its efficiency and productivity.
“Many of the senior staff in these roles have been at the club for over 10 years. Recruitment recommendations and decisions are worked on a day-to-day basis, by this department and the manager and his team.
“These investments, together with the commitments we made to Ole and his coaching staff in March, have given us the building blocks for success.
“Whilst we are confident this investment will deliver results, it’s important that we are patient while Ole and his team build for the future. We will continue to focus on the long-term strategy and won’t be influenced by short-term distractions.
“As always with Manchester United, speculation around the summer transfer window was intense, and the club was linked with hundreds of players.
“Despite this, our recruitment department’s robust process and early alignment on targets with the manager meant we were able to approach the window in a focused and disciplined way.
“Our new signings – Dan James, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire – joined a strong squad that also saw renewed contracts for a number of our key players including Marcus Rashford, David De Gea and Victor Lindelof, as well as Anthony Martial and Luke Shaw, among others, earlier in the season.
“We’re optimistic for the future. The sale and loaning pf players this summer has also allowed the manager to involve more of our young players and to provide a firm foundation and a culture ready for building the next trophy-winning squad.
“Regarding the speculation around a head of football, we are continually reviewing and looking at the potential to evolve our structure on the football side.
“Much of the speculation around this type of role focuses purely on recruitment, an area we’ve evolved in recent years. As already mentioned, we feel the players that we’ve signed this summer demonstrates that this approach is the right one.
“Returning to the roots of our club’s ethos of youth-led, attacking football, is the right way forward and everyone at the club – the board, the manager, the squad and all of the staff – remains resolute in their desire to get Manchester United back to the top of English football.
“We’ll continue to make the necessary investments to make this happen, across our first-team players, our Academy and our recruitment department.
“This long-term approach to building the squad is the right one.” Ed Woodward added.
United’s recent transfer business has been brought into scrutiny by the fans. The board will have to make good quality signings to win over the fans once again.
