Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has stepped down as manager of Cardiff City with immediate effect.
Solskjaer’s resignation arrives on the back of emergency talks with Chairman Mehmet Dalman following a series of below-par results that have left Cardiff languishing in the bottom half of the Championship.
After a 1-0 loss to Middlesbrough the former Norway striker, who only took the role in January following the sacking of now disgraced Malky Mackay, admitted that his side must do better.
“This is a good squad – we have good players and I am fortunate enough to have a lot of them,” said Solskjaer.
“We haven’t had results recently though and that’s my responsibility.”
The former United reserve team manager cited a clash of football philosophy’s as one of his main reasons for leaving the Welsh club.
However Solskjaer, unlike his predecessor Mackay, was eager to point out that he maintains a good working relationship with Cardiff’s infamous owner Vincent Tan.
“I want to thank Vincent for giving me the opportunity to manage Cardiff City FC,” said Solskjaer.
“He has my full respect and I really wish him all the best in his pursuit of making this football club successful.
“Despite this the differences in our philosophy about how to manage this club has made me decide to step aside and allow the club to move forward in the direction Vincent wants.”
The Cardiff job was Solskjaer’s first in professional English football after a trophy laden three year spell in charge of Molde in Norway.
The 41-year-old spent eleven years at United and scored 91 goals in 235 appearances.
After netting the team’s winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich, the baby faced assassin, as he was affectionately known, went down in United folklore as the club completed an unprecedented treble.
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