Manchester United have no chance against Man City and Liverpool without Pochettino - Ince - 7M sport

Manchester United have no chance against Man City and Liverpool without Pochettino - Ince

MANCHESTER UNITED must appoint Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager or risk never matching Manchester City or Liverpool.


Posted Tuesday, January 15, 2019 by Express.co.uk

That is the view of former Manchester United player Paul Ince, who is concerned the club may make the wrong managerial decision.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the current manager in charge of United but his deal ends in May.

The Molde boss could be kept on as manager at Old Trafford but the board are also looking at other options.

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has been trailed by United, while Antonio Conte and Zinedine Zidane are both out of work.

Yet Ince is worried if Manchester United don't appoint Pochettino then they will labour to catch City and Liverpool in future title races.

"For the next few years what the club need to do is bring in a manager that can seriously get United competing with City and Liverpool," he told Paddy Power.

"And of the options available, Pochettino is the man to do that.

"The club shouldn't be making rash decisions, picking a manager just because he's had six wins on the bounce, all of which came against below average sides bar one.

Manchester United have no chance against Man City and Liverpool without Pochettino - Ince
Manchester United want Pochettino as Man City and Liverpool battle for the title (Image: GETTY)

Manchester United have no chance against Man City and Liverpool without Pochettino - Ince
Manchester United beat Pochettino's Tottenham on Sunday (Image: GETTY)

"You'd like to think that even under (Jose) Mourinho they'd have won those games."

United are in buoyant mood right now with Solskjaer leading them to six straight wins - including Sunday's 1-0 result over Tottenham at Wembley.

But Ince has called for calm over claims Solskjaer should get the full-time job right now.

"People say the acid test was against Tottenham, but United won that by default of Tottenham having an off-game in terms of scoring and De Gea being so fantastic," he added.

Manchester United have no chance against Man City and Liverpool without Pochettino - Ince
Ince reckons Manchester United can rival City with Pochettino in charge (Image: GETTY)

"They didn't outclass Spurs at all.

"It's easy to default to the Ole bandwagon, but the club need to be careful.

"I'd like to think that the Glazers and Ed Woodward will be looking at who is the right man for the next few years, rather than the right man right now. If they decide on Ole, then good luck to them.

"It's an enormous job, we've seen the pressure it puts on even the top managers.

Manchester United have no chance against Man City and Liverpool without Pochettino - Ince
Ince has backed Pochettino to compete with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp (Image: GETTY)

"That's not to say that if Ole carries on with this momentum, especially when they face the likes of Arsenal, PSG and Liverpool, that it won't change their minds.

"I don't want to discredit how he has brought back hope and presence back to the team, but it doesn't mean he should get the job permanently.

"No disrespect to him, because he's come in as caretaker and he's done a great job so far, but he struggled at Cardiff and Molde are nowhere near United's level.

"So, to ask him to come in and compete with the best teams in the world might be a tough ask for him."

Ince admits that success for Solskjaer should lead to a deserved shot at the managerial post.

But he doesn't want the appointment to come in January.

"If he gets the club into the top four, and into the final of the Champions League, then that would be the time when the board should be swayed," he added.

"But we need to be careful not to get carried away – the decision shouldn't be made just yet."



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