Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes he is the right man for the club despite pressure building on him ahead of Saturday's trip to Everton.
United were beaten 1-0 by Arsenal at Old Trafford in the Premier League last weekend before Wednesday's humbling 2-1 reverse to Istanbul Basaksehir.
The nature of that performance in Turkey in particular has prompted further scrutiny over Solskjaer, who has overseen the worst start to a season at home of any United manager since 1972-73.
Impressive performances, such as victories over Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig, have been undermined by embarrassing losses at home to Crystal Palace and Tottenham, and they have not scored in their previous two league matches.
Another defeat at Goodison Park, where they have not won since January 2018, would cast further doubt on Solskjaer's future as speculation builds around the club having sounded out Mauricio Pochettino and Julian Nagelsmann as possible replacements.
But Solskjaer, who had overseen a club-record 10 consecutive away wins in all competitions before the Basaksehir loss, says he has no reason not to be confident in his own strengths.
"Why shouldn't I be?" he said on Friday. "If I don't trust my beliefs and values and my staff's quality and players' quality, who else should? I don't look at one or two results and fall like a house of cards.
1 - This result ended Manchester United’s longest away winning run in all competitions in their history (10 straight wins), and was their first away defeat in 19 matches since losing in January at Liverpool in the Premier League. Abrupt. pic.twitter.com/c7nEXy2qh7
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 4, 2020
"I think there's been too much made of, say, not scoring against Arsenal and Chelsea because there was more or less nothing in those two games and it's not long ago we were the best things since sliced bread when we beat RB Leipzig and PSG.
"There's ups and downs in football and you have to have belief in yourself and the players the club has been very positive and they've shown strong character and leadership.
"I've always had a very good, open, honest, positive dialogue with the club and they've shown strong leadership. I don't expect the wind to turn. Of course, there is always pressure and expectations on us, but I've grown up here or became a man at Manchester United and learned how to deal with good and bad times."
Solskjaer believes the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, including matches being held behind closed doors, is not helping players when it comes to recovering from defeats.
"Every game lives its own life and it's fine margins," he said. "Results create the headlines and the backdrop and in games that you win at times you're praised and 'that was a fantastic performance' and sometimes you lose, and you're criticised and it's not that black and white.
"No-one has been in the situation the players are in now. They've had months and months of playing with the uncertainty of the virus and the pandemic and sometimes it's easy to sit at home and think football is the same. We have to look after them, both physically and mentally, and these are things I think about a lot.
"I'm a definite believer in these boys and they will come back and show that they care.
"You have to be mentally strong, of course, there are demands on a Man United player and coach and manager and an expectation because we're at the best and biggest club in the world and you don't expect to have anything but criticism. It's how you deal with that setback and the boys have been very focused since we came back and ready to give a response.
"You don't have to be happy to stay positive. You know that, on difficult days, in life, there will be better ones coming and I know these players well enough and I trust them enough to have a response, going out there enjoying wearing the shirt and playing a good team, which is always another personal pride as well."
