Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has admitted he is baffled by the club’s struggles of late, adding that he cannot fathom their inconsistent form. The Red Devils have endured a mixed season so far, with a credible top-four challenge in the Premier League and a quarter-final berth in the Carabao Cup the highlights of their campaign up to now.

United started strongly in Europe but have since slipped out of the Champions League after failing to take a point from their final two games, consigning them to another year in the Europa League.

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Such inconsistency has heaped the pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with speculation continuing to question the Norwegian’s future at Old Trafford.

Former France international Saha, who spent four years at United between 2004 and 2008, has acknowledged that he has been left bemused by the Red Devils’ performances. “United have a team that has the quality to be in the last rounds of the Champions League but they lack consistency,” the two-time title winner told Genting Bet .

“They’re not lacking the fighting spirit, but the actual concentration. They need to know that they can’t go down three-nil at half-time – it puts too much pressure on their shoulders. “It’s easy for me to be as objective as possible, but I’m so annoyed. This is a team with a lot of talent and I can’t understand. “It’s a pity because the team has massive potential but how can you concede that many goals first all the time?

“Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is someone that I really appreciate and do think that he’s got the quality for Manchester United. Maybe he’s not given the players themselves the help, or maybe he’s not challenging them enough? I don’t know, but there is something missing. 

“There is definitely quality in the squad because they show that in the spirit to come back in games. They show that they can get good runs going but sometimes there’s too much dependency on one or two players, and that’s not normal. “A team is built on foundations and something needs to be changed. You talk about the management, which is definitely the topic of the press but for me they have good options.

“There is a desire to improve this squad, and this club, because the position of Manchester United is not right. Whatever it is, whether the structure of the club or maybe in terms of transfers, in terms of the academy, I don’t know. It’s easy for me to say but I do think that Ole has proved that he can get some players in really top form. 

“I really like what he’s done in midfield, especially with Fred and Scott McTominay – they have done really well and performed as we would expect the likes of [Paul] Pogba to do.

“The strikers have done okay but when they miss an opportunity, you get the impression that they think ‘it’s okay because there’ll be another one’ which isn’t great. It’s not like they’re not performing, but the backlines and the midfield need to step up in terms of consistency, the foundation is very important.”

Goal.com