Andy Gray says Mauricio Pochettino must win silverware in order to join the ‘super coach’ category of managers.
Tottenham take on Newcastle in the early kick-off today looking to stay within touching distance of Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League title race.
Pochettino, currently linked with the United job as reported by Goal, seen his side knocked out of the FA Cup and League Cup over the course of a week, meaning the only pieces of silverware winnable for Spurs this season is the Premier League and Champions League.
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Neither is likely to happen.
Not winning a piece of silverware is becoming an even bigger issue for Pochettino, especially since he became a candidate for the United job.
United must be competing on all fronts and while he’s done an incredible job at Spurs with limited funding, the Argentine coach still hasn’t got a trophy to his name.
We belong to an age where some believe finishing in the top four counts as success. It may be an achievement, size depending on each club, but anyone calling it more than that is wide off the mark.
Gray nails it with his assessment of Pochettino claiming he will never be remembered as a super coach unless his teams start delivering trophies.
Pochettino won’t ever be classed as a “super coach” unless he wins a trophy!#beiNPL #TOTNEW pic.twitter.com/mdPJiFj8YZ
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) February 2, 2019
He wouldn’t get away with not delivering success at United and knows the job would demand a lot more, with additional stress and a greater workload.
Pochettino’s recent comments about egos and winning silverware struck the wrong chord.
“We are going to create a debate that to win a trophy is going to help the club. I don’t agree with that. That only builds your ego,” the Spurs manager said, as quoted by the Guardian.
“In reality the most important thing is being consistently in the top four and playing in the Champions League. That is going to help the club to achieve the last step.
“The club is doing fantastically well. It’s so successful. In the last four or five years we’ve been fighting in different ways to achieve what the club needs, to be in the level of Chelsea, United, City, Arsenal or Liverpool. People wish we could win some trophies. But, being realistic, we are a team not built to win titles still.”
The United job is likely to be between Pochettino and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer unless something drastic happens, but do we really want a manager who is concerned with egos after winning trophies?
That’s part and parcel with football management and shouldn’t be dissed when winning a piece of silverware also grants fans an opportunity to get out and celebrate for the sake of their team!
