Former Manchester United striker Robin van Persie is worried that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may not be capable of restoring confidence in his players following the defeat to Newcastle.

After the 1-0 loss at St James’ Park, the United boss said that he will need to make sure that they’re mentally prepared for the next game following the disappointing result:

“It’s my responsibility. I need to sort their heads out.”

Van Persie said he didn’t understand where Solskjaer was coming from with the remark. The Dutchman believes it is the manager’s responsibility to ensure his players have confidence going out on the pitch:

“If you’re a player you’re a little bit like, ‘my head is fine’. Even though you can see the players are low in confidence, he needs to find a way to reconnect again and to get their confidence high.”

“As a manager, when you’re team is low in confidence get them up, when your team is too high in confidence, when they are becoming a little bit too much, you have to get them back to the middle again.”

“At the moment, based on this interview, and based on what I’ve seen in the game, I’m not sure if he really knows how to find the buttons there.”

The biggest question will be whether the players are playing for the manager and van Persie is suggesting that Solskjaer may not have the ability to inspire them.

Recent results suggest that may true, but it will be interesting to see how United react after the international break. They will be facing Liverpool at Old Trafford in thirteen days time.