Man United’s squad good enough for top 4: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
But Red Devils manager says he might look for experience in January window
Despite sitting just two points above the relegation zone, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes his squad is good enough to finish in the top four of the English Premier League.
The Red Devils have suffered their worst start to a season in 30 years and have just nine points from their first eight games.
Ex-England and United striker Michael Owen has called Solskjaer's side "the worst United team for decades" while former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp believes this is the poorest Red Devils side in the EPL era.
Despite being 15 points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, who they play on Sunday, Solskjaer believes his squad is good enough to finish in the Champions League places.
He told Gary Neville in a Sky Sports interview: "Yes, definitely...
"We're one or two players light, and we've said that, but if the right ones are available in January then we might do something. If not, these players will give everything...
"Sometimes you feel (it's) the margin that's going against us... if that turns, we might just go on a run here. If you look at the games we've got, if we can get a few players back in, we can go on the same run that we did when I first came in."
With only Liverpool, Leicester City and Sheffield United conceding fewer goals than the Red Devils in the EPL, United's biggest problem has been finding the net.
After opening the season with four goals against Chelsea, United have scored just five times in their following seven matches.
When asked what is behind the team's scoring woes, Solskjaer said: "There's many reasons, but one of them is injuries to Anthony (Martial), who started really well through the middle with Marcus (Rashford) on the left.
"Creating chances has been a challenge for us, with teams dropping deep. It's the fine margins as well.
"If you go 1-0 up instead of 1-0 down, when you look at the Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay headers against Newcastle (United) and Arsenal, it's a completely different ball game.
"But we're practising patterns every single week and when we get the players fit, I'm going to make Marcus and Anthony score those scruffy goals, as that's what I did!"
Martial has not featured for United since August and Rashford has filled the No. 9 position since then, but he has found the net just once - via a penalty- since the opening day.
NO REPLACEMENTS
United let forwards Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez leave in the summer but did not replace them.
Ex-England internationals Owen, Alan Shearer and Paul Merson have all said that Rashford is not a natural goalscorer.
Solskjaer seemed to agree, suggesting that the England international is a not a great goalscorer.
Said the Norwegian: "Marcus is a centre forward who can play left, right and as a No. 10.
"He wants to be able to play all the positions. I want him to be facing the goal, I want to be direct and attacking quickly, so at the moment, I see him coming in off the left or as part of a two up front.
"Marcus' movement is great, but maybe we just need to give him a game or two of rest because he's played a lot.
"Sometimes, because he's a young boy with lots of expectations on his shoulders, he's played four or five seasons now, and yet he's still not even 22 yet.
"He's a scorer of great goals, as he did for England (against Bulgaria). I want him to become a great goalscorer - and that's a different mentality. At the moment, he's learning."
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