Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Says There Can Be No Excuses at Manchester United Next Term

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said there will be no "excuses" at the club next season. 

The team finished sixth in the Premier League after a poor end to their campaign under the Norwegian, but he is already looking forward to the players' return for pre-season.

"Of course, we're going to sit down and go through all the plans with the physical coaches and with the coaches, and we'll be ready when 1 July comes," he told MUTV. "There are not going to be any excuses."

Solskjaer took charge on a caretaker basis in December after Jose Mourinho was sacked, but after an initial upturn in results, the team's form dropped off significantly in the final weeks. He added:

"I've only been here five months but you get more energy off working and sometimes, sadly but it's true, you get more energy when it goes against you.

"You get more energy because you're determined to come back a better team and a better coach, to help the players improve and be even better. Yeah it's nice, winning, don't get me wrong. But when you get a season like we've had, I think everyone wants to show what we can do, because they're proud players and we're proud coaches.

"You can't forget [about last season]. You have to learn from your mistakes as well. We want to learn more from what we did right."

United's season ended with a disappointing 2-0 defeat at home to relegated Cardiff City.

As ESPN's Rob Dawson observed, their performance was emblematic of a side that struggled at the back throughout the season:

They shipped 54 goals overall, a record bettered by 10 teams in the Premier League, including Crystal Palace and Newcastle United, who both finished in the bottom half. At the other end, only Chelsea scored fewer than their 65 goals.

While United laboured to the end of the season, with two wins in their last 12 matches in all competitions, rivals Manchester City romped home to a domestic treble that included racking up 98 points in the league, 32 more than the Red Devils.

Football writer Ryan Baldi put that into damning context:

United were 11 points off the top four when Solskjaer took charge, so it's a testament to the impressive response he got from his team upon his arrival that they were only five points off by the end of the season despite their woeful form during the run-in.

Few will expect a title challenge from the Red Devils next season given how far ahead City and Liverpool are, but only six points separated Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and United.

Overhauling their other top-six rivals is a realistic aim, but they need to improve in every area of the pitch and show more consistency throughout the campaign.

That will be a much more difficult challenge for Solskjaer than giving the team an initial lift after Mourinho's departure and the biggest test of his managerial career.