Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has shown his displeasure with the club’s congested fixtures that will see them play four matches in eleven days.
The Red Devils will be facing Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals at the Wembley Stadium on Sunday after playing Crystal Palace today in the English Premier League at Selhurst Park.
Knowing full well the club’s quest for success in the FA Cup and Champions League playoff places, Solskjaer believes Manchester United have been dealt an unfair fixture schedule in the final two weeks of the Premier League. In this situation, he is going to have to play his cards well as they chase down a Champions League spot.
The Red Devils have three games left in the Premier League, Chelsea on the other hand after defeating Norwich City 1-0 at the Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night has four days to rest for the FA Cup semi-final while United have just two.
Expressing his concern over the development, the former Molde manager said he will have to start thinking about picking up the pieces after Thursday.
“There is a concern, obviously, that they will have had 48 hours’ more rest and recovery than us. It’s not fair,” Solskjaer said. “We spoke about fair scheduling going into this restart and of course it isn’t. But I have to think about Thursday, winning that one, focusing on that one, and then pick up the pieces after that.”
Solskjaer confident of Man Utd fitnesss
Despite his concern over the hectic schedule, Solksjaer expressed confidence with the fitness levels of his side as they also look forward to playing two games next week as well. By next week, they will be looking for a final push into the top four in the last three league games.
“The next two weeks will be hectic but then again we’re fit, very fit – our lads have not felt as fit as this for years, I’m sure,” Solskjaer explained.
“It was a big thing towards the end of last season that we felt our team wasn’t fit enough, we got a few injuries, this season we’ve not had that kind of a problem.
“It’s not going to be a problem and a concern for us but 24 hours, 48 hours is a big difference at this time [of the season] so we’ve not been handed four Aces, to put it that way, for the last two weeks. But we’re going to have to put on a poker face and play the cards well.”
