Pochettino told to avoid Man Utd job, with another Prem boss tipped as ‘good move’

Mauricio Pochettino has been told to avoid taking the Manchester United job this summer, with another Premier League manager tipped as a strong option instead.

The Red Devils will be appointing a new permanent manager come the end of the season, when interim chief Ralf Rangnick will step down and take on an advisory role with the club.

The current two frontrunners for the job are rumoured to be PSG boss Pochettino and Ajax coach Erik Ten Hag.

But while Pochettino is believed to be the player’s choice for the role, United’s board, along with Rangnick, are said to favour Ten Hag.

Despite his links to the post, Neil Warnock thinks Pochettino should steer well clear.

Indeed, the former Sheffield United manager feels that current Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers is much better suited to take charge.

Warnock told talkSPORT: “I think it is a massive job. If I was Pochettino, I wouldn’t think about coming to Man United.

“The only person I can think of now, which I never thought about – I think Brendan Rodgers now would possibly be a good move.

Albanian Ramy Bensebaini to replace Luke Shaw at Manchester United

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“Because I think Brendan is realising how difficult it is at Leicester as well. I think it might be a good time to change over.

“I think Brendan does deal with these stars. So I don’t see Pochettino wanting to come back because there is a hell of a lot of work.”

Rangnick on the brink

Meanwhile, Kevin Phillips says the writing is on the wall and he “wouldn’t be surprised” if interim boss Ralf Rangnick did not see the season out at Manchester United.

United’s disappointing home draw with Southampton leaves them 23 points behind their neighbours, table-topping Manchester City. But more concerning for Rangnick is that it came 24 hours after a significant leak at the club.

Gary Neville has since labelled the rumours “disgusting” but Rangnick had to face questions about his training methods on Friday.

A damaging report from ESPN claimed that Rangnick’s methods were ‘old fashioned’ with 49-year-old American coach Chris Armas likened to fictional coach Ted Lasso.

And Phillips, who made over 650 career appearances, thinks Rangnick could be walking a tightrope at Old Trafford.

“It’s Man United – at the end of the day,” Phillips told Football Insider.

“They set standards and have done for years and years now. If you’re not meeting those expectations, then people have paid the price for that in the past.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if Rangnick were to go. We heard about something similar when Mourinho was there with the players questioning the training methods, and that didn’t last long.

“Once we start hearing rumours and that sort of thing, it’s a massive concern. And you can see that coming through on the pitch with the performances and body language of the players.

“It’s a concern and I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t see the season out and was soon sacked.”

READ MORE: Gary Neville says he knows identity of Man Utd players behind ‘disgusting’ leaks