Manchester United are reportedly on the verge of appointing former Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Pochettino praise
The Red Devils have reportedly made contact with the current United States national team manager, and he looks set to be appointed ahead of the crunch tie with Liverpool at Anfield on 22 November.
Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane, who played under Pochettino at Tottenham Hotspur, has already spoken highly of the manager.
He claimed that he could not speak highly enough of him and credited the manager with playing a big role in his development as a player.
| Season | Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals for | Goals against | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008/09 | RCD Espanyol Barcelona | 21 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 31 | 20 | 42.9% |
| 2009/10 | RCD Espanyol Barcelona | 40 | 11 | 12 | 17 | 30 | 49 | 27.5% |
| 2010/11 | RCD Espanyol Barcelona | 42 | 16 | 6 | 20 | 50 | 58 | 38.1% |
| 2011/12 | RCD Espanyol Barcelona | 44 | 15 | 11 | 18 | 59 | 66 | 34.1% |
| 2012/13 | Southampton FC | 16 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 19 | 20 | 25.0% |
| 2012/13 | RCD Espanyol Barcelona | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 25 | 14.3% |
| 2013/14 | Southampton FC | 44 | 19 | 11 | 14 | 68 | 53 | 43.2% |
| 2014/15 | Tottenham Hotspur | 57 | 29 | 12 | 16 | 91 | 71 | 50.9% |
| 2015/16 | Tottenham Hotspur | 53 | 26 | 16 | 11 | 95 | 53 | 49.1% |
| 2016/17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 53 | 33 | 10 | 10 | 117 | 44 | 62.3% |
| 2017/18 | Tottenham Hotspur | 55 | 33 | 12 | 10 | 113 | 53 | 60.0% |
| 2018/19 | Tottenham Hotspur | 58 | 34 | 4 | 20 | 109 | 71 | 58.6% |
| 2019/20 | Tottenham Hotspur | 17 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 34 | 30 | 29.4% |
| 2020/21 | Paris Saint-Germain | 34 | 24 | 3 | 7 | 80 | 35 | 70.6% |
| 2021/22 | Paris Saint-Germain | 50 | 32 | 10 | 8 | 116 | 52 | 64.0% |
Former Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Toby Alderweireld has also spoken to the BBC and sung the praises of the soon-to-be United head coach.
The former Belgium international explained, “he’s such a good guy. On the other hand, you need to follow his plan. You need to follow his way, if not, you are out. If you’re not going to work hard every day on the training ground, you’re out.”
Alderweireld explained that the team comes above everything for the Argentine, so “he brings the right mentality. He doesn’t like individuals, he only likes the team. He talks about the team and puts your effort 100% every single day, so the demand will be very high.”
Improving players
The former centre-back also echoed Kane’s words and lavished praise on Pochettino’s ability to improve players.
He explained, “to be honest, the Man United squad is not the best squad but what he can do is young players, make them better and that they play better than their normal level. That’s something to maybe look forward to as well. Maybe they don’t look like a big team now, or big stars but he can make some stars. He did that with Delle Alli, he did that with Harry Kane and you have some other examples, so I think he will do it.”
In addition, he also predicted that United fans will find it easy to get behind the manager, even if they are not getting the results they desire immediately.
He explained, “and with the fans, when you see your team at Old Trafford, playing pressure, on the front foot and doing everything in their power, even if they lose, they will accept it a little bit, there is a little bit of improvement, they are seeing the way and at the end, the results will come for sure.”
It remains to be seen whether the manager will take charge of his final two games for the United States against Haiti before joining the Red Devils in Manchester.
Featured image by Jamie Squire via Getty Images
