A breakdown in relationships at Tottenham Hotspur may have resulted in Mauricio Pochettino being sacked, according to Andy Mitten.
The United We Stand editor was speaking on Wednesday’s OTB AM and dissected why he felt that the Argentine was replaced by Jose Mourinho as Spurs’ manager.
“I saw Pochettino close-up in pre-season in Singapore, and I don’t cover Tottenham as closely as I cover Manchester United, but he reminded me of Mourinho in that previous preseason. He didn’t look happy.
“He was sending out very mixed messages. I was thinking, trying to be objective, ‘Wait a minute. You’ve just had a brilliant season. You’ve been in the final of the Champions League. What’s going on behind the scenes here?’
“You could tell that things were not happy and I spoke to several of the Spurs players, on the record, but I spoke to other people close to Spurs off the record. You could see that the players had issues.
“I was told there were a lot of egos there. I think the manager was frustrated that he couldn’t bring more players in. I think it was just a disconnect and a breakdown in relationships. That’s been reflected in poor league results,” Mitten explained.
Will Pochettino take over at United?
While many pundits feel that Pochettino will eventually take over as Man United boss, Mitten wasn’t so sure.
“I know two people that know him very well and they said he was ruthlessly ambitious.
“But Pochettino’s stock has definitely dimmed in the last year because it was a year ago where people were saying he will replace Jose Mourinho at Man United. That’s obviously moved on quite a few steps since then.”
While the Argentine’s chances of taking over at United may have diminished, Mitten still believes Pochettino will manage a major team next.
“I think Pochettino will get a top-level job. He has taken Spurs to the Champions League final… But I think Pochettino will be in the frame book. He hasn’t won trophies with Tottenham.
“I think he should have gone out and won [a trophy] - even if it was a League Cup, even if it was an FA Cup. But he’s clearly a very, very talented manager,” Mitten said.
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