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Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is likely to be in charge for Saturday's game against Tottenham, 90min understands, with the club's hierarchy seeing that fixture as a better barometer of their current standing.

United was humiliated by bitter rivals Liverpool on Sunday, convincingly losing 5-0 at Old Trafford to suffer one of their heaviest ever defeats in the Premier League.


 

The result comes a little over a year after Spurs, managed then by former boss Jose Mourinho, embarrassed United 6-1 on their own patch, and has poured further - and more significant - pressure onto the shoulders of Solskjaer, who many detractors feel isn't capable of taking the club to the next level.

Former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, who left Inter at the end of last season after winning Serie A, has been strongly linked with taking over from Solskjaer, and 90min understands that he's open to succeeding the Norwegian should he be dismissed.


 

However, United's board are yet to make a definitive decision on Solskjaer - even though the manner of the defeat to Liverpool shocked some of his most stringent supporters at the club - and they are keen to see whether or not he can deliver an improved performance against Spurs.


 

Rumours of dressing room unrest and players losing faith in Solskjaer's ability have been speculated, but 90min has learned that the board have not spoken to any senior players - they want to avoid a situation where it looks like the manager is being squeezed out from within.

Nevertheless, the club are doing their due diligence on potential candidates to take over, should Saturday's game offer no further improvement.


 

Conte is the obvious option, but former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane is also out of work and available immediately. 90min sources indicate he'd be interested in hearing what United have to say, despite reports elsewhere suggesting he's not keen to take on the role.
 

The Red Devils see both Conte and Zidane as preferable candidates because the Glazers ideally want to avoid spending millions of pounds on compensation and legal fees, should they attempt to prise an employed manager away from their club.

That would rule the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Erik ten Hag and Brendan Rodgers out of contention in the short-term, although they fit the profile of manager that United would want to employ in the future.