Richard Buxton: Even FA Cup win might not save Solskjaer, Sarri

Job titles are the sole distinction between Manchester United and Chelsea's current managers.

In all but name, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Maurizio Sarri both remain temporary appointments.

FIFTH ROUND

CHELSEA

MAN UNITED

Neither is likely to remain in their post when the new English Premier League season rolls around in six months' time.

Even winning the FA Cup is unlikely to save either manager, whose sides meet in the fifth round tomorrow morning (Singapore time).

Sarri was supposed to provide a clean break from the Blues' ongoing cycle of chaos under Roman Abramovich.

Like the Russian's previous 12 managerial appointments, however, he is simply passing through; circling the drain since his first day in the Stamford Bridge hot seat.

Yet even the current disconnect appears out of step with Abramovich's penchant for short-termism.

Chelsea's owner governs with as much absent-mindedness as he does in absentia.

Hiring Sarri after allowing Antonio Conte to take the first day of pre-season training was the first clear sign that the oligarch's interest had finally begun to wane.

In truth, the rot had set in under the Italian's predecessor, who had to contend with a lack of quality replacements.

Downgrading Gary Cahill from a captain and leader to an outcast has not helped Sarri's case, though.

Save for fleeting acts of tokenism, like signing former allies Jorginho and Gonzalo Higuain, there has been little signs of the fabled "Sarri-ball" taking effect in the English capital.

Abramovich's current stay-away indicates that a personal seal of approval is not forthcoming.

Instability remains the primary ingredient for success in west London.

THRIVE ON INSTABILITY

No club has thrived more prolifically on it than the one which has reached 16 cup finals in as many years.

But as Conte discovered exactly nine months ago, winning major silverware cannot offset another Champions League qualification shortfall.

He won the FA Cup last May, but lost his job two months later.

At Old Trafford, another big-name manager, Louis van Gaal, suffered the same fate in 2016 just days after winning the FA Cup, but failed to secure Champions League football.

Solskjaer should be wary.

He is already meeting the prerequisite as United's stand-in boss, turning around an 11-point deficit to the top four by winning more EPL games than Jose Mourinho in a shorter time frame.

Unifying a previously fractured dressing room and reviving the Red Devils' traditional identity also strengthens the Norwegian's case to be handed the job permanently.

His genial demeanour and quasi-Mancunian accent add further, if slightly diminished, plus points.

Sentiment, though, has little place in elite-level football decisions. Results matter, and United's most recent one constitutes a glaring blot on Solskjaer's managerial copybook.

His side were not just comprehensively beaten in their Champions League encounter with Paris Saint-Germain. It was a humbling of historical proportions.

United had never previously lost by a margin of more than one goal in their entire European history on home soil.

Exiting the Round of 16 appears no less of an inevitability than it did in Mourinho's final days and at least affords Solskjaer a fair chance of vying for the top four during the EPL run-in.

Genuine doubts are still being cast as to whether he constitutes a better long-term fit for the 20- time champions of England than Mauricio Pochettino. For him, the jury is currently out.

United's poor footballing infrastructure undermines Solskjaer's case for long-term leadership as much as Sarri's at Chelsea.

The star-gazing strategy of the post-Alex Ferguson era has proven a costly and convoluted mess that no amount of nostalgia will be able to remedy.

One man is likely to emerge victorious at the Bridge but neither can winners in managerial purgatory.