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Man Utd news: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer issued Mauricio Pochettino warning - he WON’T go away
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER has been warned that as soon as things begin to turn sour for him at Manchester United - Mauricio Pochettino will be linked with the job.
Recent reports have indicated Solskjaer could be appointed as full-time boss at Old Trafford in the near future.
The Norwegian has overseen a huge improvement in his 19 games at the club, although United have lost back-to-back matches to suffer a hit to their top-four hopes and crash out of the FA Cup.
Overall his record reads 14 wins, two draws and three losses having taken over when United were 11 points away from the Premier League’s Champions League spots and written off from progressing past Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of Europe.
Solskjaer’s arrival was initially designed as only a short-term appointment, with the 46-year-old having swapped Molde in his homeland to return to his former club.
It was thought Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino was to be United’s long-term target this summer with the Spurs boss said to be their No 1 target when Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho back in December.
Yet the Red Devils legend is now a shoe-in for the position due to the affinity he has developed with the squad and the relationship he has rekindled with the fans, who loved him in his 11 years as a player.
It had previously been suggested by United vice-executive chairman Ed Woodward that no decision would be taken until the end of the campaign but Solskjaer seems set to be handed the reins permanently.
But the caretaker manager’s former United team-mate Phil Neville has warned him that links to Pochettino will not go away and that the Argentine will be tipped to replace him if Solskjaer suffers a downturn in performances or results at any point.
Pochettino over the next five years, I don’t think, will actually go away from the speculation of Man United
Neville told Premier League Today: “Three months ago Poch was the number one candidate. That’s changed now. I think Ole has overtaken Pochettino.
“I actually think if United drop off from now until the end of the season, Pochettino will be the number one candidate.
“If Solskjaer gets the job and United lose the first 10 games of next season, Pochettino will be the number one [to replace him].
“He looks like a Man United manager to me in terms of his whole philosophy.
“Pochettino over the next five years, I don’t think, will actually go away from the speculation of Man United.
Man United: Pochettino better option than Solskjaer says Burley
“But Solskjaer has now raced ahead of the pack and is the number one candidate.”
But despite the quality of Pochettino’s body of work in his five years with Spurs, Neville insists Solskjaer has to be first choice.
He added: “They have to give him the job. At this moment in time, it’s impossible not to give him the job.
“If you look at the fans, if they don’t Solskjaer the job, I do think the fans will be really unhappy.”