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Solskjaer responds to De Gea criticism as he backs 'mentally strong' Man Utd goalkeeper
The Spaniard was at fault during Chelsea's FA Cup semi-final win but the Red Devils boss refused to be drawn on his goalkeeping dilemma
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists David de Gea is mentally strong enough to bounce back from the mistakes he made against Chelsea ahead of Manchester United’s crucial meeting with West Ham.
The Spaniard came under fire for the part he played in all three of Chelsea’s goals at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final, with Solskjaer having said the former Atletico Madrid star knows he should have done better with Mason Mount's 25-yard effort at the start of the second half.
There have been calls for De Gea to be dropped ahead of United’s two crucial Premier League games this week as they look to secure Champions League qualification but Solskjaer would not be drawn into a debate over the goalkeeper.
Ahead of United's clash with West Ham on Wednesday evening, the Norwegian told reporters: "This is not going to become a David de Gea press conference. We're just going to stick together.
"David's mentally strong enough to know his job is to perform in training the next day and be ready for the games."
When pushed on whether or not De Gea should be dropped in place of Sergio Romero, he added: "That's your job to talk about and write about and my job is to prepare a team for West Ham.
"We're not going to talk about individuals because no one here will fear we put more pressure on them."
Meanwhile, Solskjaer is likely to be without Eric Bailly for his side’s final home league game of the season as the defender continues to recover from a nasty clash of heads against Chelsea which saw him leave the pitch on a stretcher and wearing a neck brace.
The Ivory Coast international spent Sunday night in London receiving treatment before returning to Manchester on Monday and while the centre-back appears to be okay, Solskjaer does not think he will be available for the game.
"I don't think he'll be ready for this game, I've not seen him this morning yet," he said. "I think everyone is available apart from that, we've just got to stick together, stay strong, two games to go and we've given ourselves a good chance."
