According to The Sun, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is afraid his future could be determined in the coming days, and he has told his players he will be axed if they lose against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.

Jose Mourinho’s Spurs visit Old Trafford on Wednesday, while the first Manchester derby of the season will go down at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

While they are ninth in the Premier League table, the Red Devils are only six points above the relegation zone, and defeats at the hands of Tottenham and City could be fatal.

As reported by The Sun, Solskjaer has told the players all his and their focus now has to go straight to the Spurs game ahead of Jose’s return, making it clear to them just how much their old boss will want to win.

The Norwegian has told them Mourinho would be desperate for victory, and it will be interesting to see how they respond on the pitch.

The Portuguese was sacked by Man Utd last December, and he was out of job until replacing Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham last month.

Spurs have won all the three games he has overseen, and a win at Old Trafford will go a long way in boosting their top-four chances, with only six points between them and Chelsea.

Mourinho will be more than keen to make a statement of intent and prove his former employers wrong, and if there is anyone capable of inspiring his players to victory, it’s the Portuguese.