Paul Ince has criticised the board of former club Manchester United for being so hasty in their decision to make Ole Gunnar Solskjaer permanent manager.
The Red Devils enjoyed an upsurge in form when Solskjaer took over from Jose Mourinho as interim manager last season.
However, following the United board’s decision to hand the Norwegian the job on a permanent basis, the team’s performances have steadily declined, and Ince feels that those in charge should have waited until the end of the campaign.
“I’m not here to call for any manager to be sacked – I’ve been there, and it’s not a nice feeling,” Ince told PaddyPower.
“But, I will reiterate what I said before and the board should never have made the decision with Ole as quickly as they did.
“What had he achieved to deserve that job? He went to Cardiff and took them down, then he went to Molde. So, what on earth makes the board think that he’s the right man for one of, if not the, biggest job in football?
“If they’d have waited until the end of the season and assessed the situation, I’m not sure whether they’d have appointed him. All they took into consideration was the excitement of PSG and a few other games.
“To go from Cardiff, to Molde, to Manchester United, you’ve got to be some manager. I’m looking at his staff, too, and aside from Micky Phelan they all seem so young. Even sometimes when I’m watching the game and I’m looking at the dugout and Ole’s speaking to them, they all seem to have no reaction. They look as if they don’t have a clue what’s going on.”
Ince suggested that Tottenham boss Pochettino would have been a better fit and would possibly have been attainable after Spurs lost the Champions League final.
“I always felt that Mauricio Pochettino should’ve been the man to take over after [Jose] Mourinho,” Ince continued.
“He’s a top-class manager, and people are calling him a risky choice, but Ole was the risky choice.
“Pochettino would still have issues, though. He’d need a couple of transfer windows, he’d need to clear out players, but it’s up to the board to decide whether they trust Ole to get the club where they need to be.
“I can’t answer that, but if Pochettino showed interest they would have a lot to think about.”