Manchester United have chased Mauricio Pochettino for a long time and now that he’s available, maybe the current Red Devils boss will be getting a little nervous.
Not a chance.
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was asked about Pochettino potentially being courted by United after his shock firing by Tottenham Hotspur this week and he seemed pretty relaxed about the whole situation.
“It doesn’t bother me at all. I’ve got the best job in the world,” Solskjaer said ahead of Man United’s trip to Sheffield United this Sunday (Watch live, 11:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com). “If you’re in a job, or if you’re out of a job and you’re a manager, you want this job. It doesn’t really matter whatever happens around. I’ve got to focus on my job at Manchester United and do it as well as I can. I speak with Ed Woodward and the owners all the time about how we’re going to move the club forward. That doesn’t change if some other clubs change their managers.”
Solskjaer isn’t worried about his job. Honest. 100 percent. Definitely not.
Pochettino is a manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revered for many years and his wined and dined with the Argentine coach in London in recent years.
Man United supposedly made Pochettino their top target when they fired Jose Mourinho last December (oh what a difference 12 months make...) but Spurs were never going to let him leave midseason. When United went to Spurs and won 1-0 in January, it was billed as ‘the job interview’ between Solskjaer and Pochettino.
That never materialized as Solskjaer was appointed on a permanent basis soon after following a stunning start to life in charge of United on a caretaker basis.
But with Solskjaer now in the United job for almost an entire year, the pressure is slowly being cranked up on the Norwegian coach. His legendary status as a former United hero on the pitch and his fast start last season has led to plenty of good will from United’s hierarchy and fans so far. But they need results fast as the gap to the top four is nine points, and even though Ed Woodward and Co. have made their decision to back Solskjaer, things can change very quickly in this game.
Ask Pochettino.
Solskjaer knows the pressure which comes with being United’s manager and he knows that he will be judged at the end of this season as to whether his first full campaign in charge was a success. He has been given money to spend and is building a playing identity with young, hungry players, but Pochettino seems like the perfect fit for Man United.
That will worry Solskjaer, even if he doesn’t admit it, and if Pochettino decides to hang around and wait until the end of the season, he will probably have his pick of the Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, PSG and maybe even the Man United job.
