Fans want Pochettino if Carrick is sacked
Excitement is building among Manchester United fans at the prospect of Mauricio Pochettino taking charge if Michael Carrick is sacked. Carrick is taking training at Carrington today and his future is set to be decided on Wednesday when chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox meet with minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco. If United choose to axe Carrick as expected, with the club in the relegation zone, USA boss Pochettino is the bookies' favourite to take the reins at Old Trafford.
Footage of a passionate team-talk has convinced some supporters that he would be the right appointment. A fly-on-the-wall documentary series called Behind The Crest recorded his half-time rallying cry. Pochettino is seen building himself up into a frenzy, telling his players: "Every single ball is the most important ball. We cannot play like we are winning 3-0."
He continued: 'We need to go there and show the mentality. Take the next 45 minutes seriously. Take it like it is 0-0 and we need to win the game. That is the only way we're going to improve in our mentality.' He also demanded: 'We cannot concede! We have to go there and kill!' Despite the rousing speech, the USA went on to lose the second half but came out on top 4-2 in the match.
The footage has been widely shared on social media in conjunction with Pochettino's links to the Man United job and plenty of fans endorsed the idea of recruiting him. A fan wrote: 'That intensity is what i want to see at United, 3-0 up at half and still no letting off.' A supporter posted: 'He is right man for this moment!'
Bent unconvinced by Pochettino as Manchester United frontrunner
But others were more skeptical, with one writing: 'Even if you hype him he is still gonna fail... if the same board keep of making decisions.' Pochettino's work with the USA national side earned more plaudits at the World Cup on home soil, where they played excellent football before being dumped out by Belgium in the last-16.
Another of Pochettino's half-time speeches was viewed as a crucial turning point for his tenure in the USA. With the team drawing 1-1 against Australia in 2025, Pochettino ranted: 'That is football! If we want to compete and we are 1-1 because we have the quality, we need to show more quality in the next 45 minutes.' Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter said the message of the speech was: '"We're American. We don't take s***." Even though he's Argentinian, he has that mindset of, "Look, this is what we do. This is who we are. This is what America's about."'
Carrick in crisis, Conte targets Manchester United via Zahavi
Carrick is nearing the sack during this November international break after presiding over a horrendous start to the campaign with the club in 18th.