Excitement is already building among Man 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 and 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 offered insight into the 54-year-old Argentine’s management style and recorded his half-time rallying cry, with the USA 3-0 up in a game against Jamaica during the CONCACAF Nations League semi-finals in 2024.
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.
‘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.
Mauricio Pochettino’s passionate half-time speech to USA players (above) has convinced some Man United fans he would be the right man to take charge is Michael Carrick is sacked
‘Be respectful with ourselves, first we need to respect ourselves. We cannot just go there and say to ourselves, “okay 3-0, no problem, they concede, we concede”. We cannot concede! We have to go there and kill!
‘If you are tired, we have players on the bench who can make a clear, clear impact and desperate to play. We have to press all together. When you’re tired you can say, “coach, I can do no more”.
‘Enjoy being serious, we need to score the fourth, fifth, the sixth. That is the way we grow and respect the opponent.’
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, perhaps longing for a manager who can fire up the players in the mold of Sir Alex Ferguson’s infamous hairdryer treatment.
One wrote: ‘That intensity is what i want to see at United, 3-0 up at half and still no letting off.’
Another posted: ‘He is right man for this moment!’. But others were more skeptical, with one capturing the sentiment of other naysayers, 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.
And 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. Play together. If you make a mistake, I don’t care, but communicate and fight. They [Australia] come and they fight. When are we going to fix that? The team is dead. You need to talk!’
It was the first time Pochettino lost his rag and raised his voice at players since taking charge and 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.” Even from an outside perspective, he showed us Americans what we’re about. He really drills that into us.’
The USA won the game 2-1 and the manager later reflected: ‘This speech helped and was a great opportunity for the coach to explain to the players what to expect on the pitch. It was a tough conversation, but I think it was necessary.’
Perhaps that tough love is what Man United’s dressing room now needs.
As reported by Daily Mail Sport late on Monday night, Carrick is nearing the sack during this November international break after presiding over a horrendous start to the campaign with the club in 18th and been given a stay of execution.
It’s understood that the Old Trafford hierarchy would want to inform Carrick of their decision face to face, so there may not be any confirmation from the club until Thursday.
Pochettino, pictured managing Southampton against Sir Alex Ferguson’s Man United in 2014, could bring the intensity fans have missed since their legendary manager departed
The 45-year-old turned up for work at Carrington at 7.15am on Tuesday to oversee training with the players who are not away on international duty amid increasing uncertainty over his future.
United sources maintain that a final decision has yet to be made, with the club reluctant to engage in a running commentary over Carrick’s position.
Former Tottenham and Chelsea boss Pochettino has a £7million release clause in his USA contract. However, it is yet to be determined the true value of prising Pochettino out as that figure doesn’t include buying out his backroom staff.
It is also believed within Pochettino’s deal that there is another clause which would allow him to leave his US role for particular high-profile jobs, such as at Old Trafford.
As of Tuesday morning, Betfair have him at 4/7 with out of work trio Eddie Howe (5/2), Julian Nagelsmann (5/1) and Didier Deschamps (15/2) the next favourites.
