Paul Ince Says Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Must 'Get Over' Sir Alex Ferguson

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince has said he is fed up of nostalgia being used as a reference point by the club's current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. 

Having been appointed on an interim basis in December to replace the sacked Jose Mourinho, the Norwegian was handed the job on a full-time contract after an impressive start. However, the team's results have been poor in recent weeks, with Wednesday's loss to Manchester City their seventh defeat in nine.

Speaking about the current issues being endured by the team, Ince said he thinks it's time for Solskjaer to stop pointing back to his time as a player under Sir Alex Ferguson, per Paddy Power (h/t Sacha Pisani of Goal):

"Ole needs to get over Sir Alex Ferguson—he's the United manager now. We've tried this nice approach, the stuff about Ole giving the tea lady chocolates and trying to do what Sir Alex Ferguson has done.

"That's in the past now, we need to move forward from that. All of this 'Ole legend' stuff—yeah, he scored the winner in the 1999 Champions League final, we get that. But he's not a legend—he's the manager of Manchester United.

"Regurgitating how he's going to do it 'the Fergie Way' is pointless. It's doing my head in, and I know others feel the same. Ferguson isn't the gaffer anymore—simple."

Ince added that he is "sick and tired" of Solskjaer's references to the past and that "I'm looking at the club, and the future really worries me."

He went on to say "I called it before he was made manager and got stick for it, but what I said was right. I want him to be successful, but I don't think he's capable of doing the job."

Ince recently ran the rule over which players he thinks are good enough for United on BBC Radio 5 Live:

Solskjaer has made reference to his former manager during his time in the hot seat, and they are clearly in regular conversation:

According to Chris Wheeler of the Daily Mail, United have been alarmed by the manner of the team's recent performances, prompting talks between the club's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, the manager and his assistant Mike Phelan.

Defensively, the Red Devils have been especially poor in their defeats to Barcelona, Everton and City. However, the fluid and incisive attacking play that emerged early in Solskjaer's tenure has disappeared in recent outings:

Miguel Delaney of The Independent commented on how shoddy the running of the Old Trafford outfit has been since Ferguson left:

The honeymoon period is now undoubtedly over for Solskjaer. While there's little danger of him being removed from his position before the end of the campaign, there will be pressure on him to perform at the start of next season after what is anticipated to be a busy summer at Old Trafford.

There's no doubt Solskjaer's own success as a player and experience of working under someone as iconic as Ferguson can be beneficial to the current side. At the moment, results suggest Solskjaer isn't getting the balance right behind the scenes, though.