Former Premier League goalkeeper Shaka Hislop feels Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done enough already to be named Manchester United manager on a permanent basis ahead of Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino.
The Red Devils secured safe passage into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a convincing 2-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday night.
Despite their worst start to a league campaign under then manager Jose Mourinho earlier this season, Manchester United have recovered remarkably under Solskjaer and are now leading the race for a fourth-placed finish.
And in the wake of their most recent domestic success over rivals Chelsea, Hislop has claimed that he would appoint Solskjaer on a permanent basis ahead of Pochettino, who it has been claimed in some quarters is the Red Devils' number one target.
“Yes [I would give the Manchester United job to Solskjaer on a permanent basis], without question”, Hislop said on the ESPN FC show.
“I think he has done more than enough already to prove that he deserves a shot at this long-term. I’m sticking with Solskjaer [even if Pochettino is available].”
The former West Ham and Newcastle United shot-stopper also insisted the turnaround from the Manchester United players is solely down to the impact Solskjaer has had on them.
“The turnaround we’ve seen from Manchester United, and as much as we highlight Paul Pogba and rightly so, it’s every single player to a man, bar one maybe Alexis Sanchez”, he continued.
“Every single player all of a sudden is playing some of their best football in a United shirt, some of the best football we have seen in the last five years at the very least.
“This team is playing with confidence, they are free-flowing, I keep going back to Solskjaer’s initial press conference when he arrived at Old Trafford that he wants his team to take risks and that’s what they are doing and this team is responding.”
Hislop justified his decision to back Solskjaer for the permanent job by claiming that Pochettino does not guarantee automatic success at Old Trafford in the short-term, unlike his competitor.
“Right now, you know what you’re getting with Solskjaer.
"As good as Pochettino has been for Spurs, there is no guarantee that he is going to better, certainly in the short-term”, he added.
Manchester United return to action in the Premier League on Sunday when they host table-toppers Liverpool at Old Trafford.
