'I was sacked by Man Utd like Ruben Amorim - I knew I was done midway through final game'

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Ruben Amorim is the sixth man to be told his time as Manchester United boss is up since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down 13 years ago.

Another of those to be told he was being axed was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer , that back in November 2021 when his near three-year tenure was bought to an end following a horrific run of results that culminated with an embarrassing 4-1 loss at Watford . The Norwegian had presided over third and second place finishes in the Premier League and then saw Cristiano Ronaldo , Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho all arrive in the same summer. But despite lofty expectations things turned sour very quickly.

Solskjaer, who had been questioned throughout his tenure by those who felt he couldn't take United back to the heights of yesteryear, saw his team lose five times in seven league outings.

Among those losses was a 5-0 humiliation at the hands of Liverpool at Old Trafford. Shortly after Manchester City also came to their home and schooled them, winning 2-0. A trip to Watford should've provided some respite, given their lowly league position, but it didn't turn out that way.

The Hornets were 2-0 up by the break and Solskjaer knew his time was up, so simply wanted to try and enjoy his final moments. It was difficult as Watford scored twice in added time to add some gloss to the scoreline. Solskjaer was sacked the next day.

Speaking to The National previously, Solskjaer has reflected: “There were many lows. I’m one of them who looks back at the lows more than the highs. The end at Watford, well you can’t get lower than that. I more or less knew at half-time, so my team talk was about enjoying the last 45 minutes together and giving their all.

“Some of them had stopped running, caring. But then in the second half we played well. Donny [Van de Beek] came on and scored. We should have scored more. Then we got a sending off. 2-1 until the 94th minute. It sounds really bad that it was a 4-1 defeat. It was bad to lose against Watford but it wasn’t a 4-1 game.”

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Solskjaer was replaced temporarily with Ralf Rangnick, before Erik ten Hag came in on a permanent basis that summer. To the Norwegian's credit, he is one of only two men to finish second in the league in the post-Ferguson era. Jose Mourinho the other.

Throughout his time in Manchester though he faced criticism for having little by way of a playing style of philosophy. His team often endured notable lows, before showing their powers of recovery.

Solskjaer also endured numerous semi-final and final shortcomings. He missed out on ending the club's trophy drought when he saw his team lose the Europa League final to Villarreal - a game they were favourites for.

He's since returned to the dugout with Besiktas, but lasted less than a year in charge of the Turkish side.

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