Storm clouds gathering for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Some reports suggest Mauricio Pochettino has already been approached, and that Solskjaer will join a list that features David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, and Jose Mourinho

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Picture: Martin Rickett/PA Wire.

The sun shone bright, if low, over Manchester United’s training ground on Friday morning, a sign, according to their likeable Norwegian manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, that there are still rays of hope in his position as manager of the world’s self-styled biggest football club.

Defeat Saturday lunchtime at Goodison Park, however, and — to borrow Solskjaer’s metaphor — the storm clouds will be increasing over Old Trafford, and the appointment of a fifth United manager in the seven years since Alex Ferguson retired will be a question of 'when', not 'if'.