Manchester United are on the verge of appointing Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager, but reports suggest that a group of the team’s players would have preferred another option to replace Michael Carrick. Aston Villa manager Unai Emery was a popular choice for part of the Red Devils dressing room; A coach who has been able to gain a high reputation in English football with his brilliant performance at Villa Park.
Manchester United are currently in the relegation zone of the Premier League and are experiencing their worst start to a domestic competition in 40 years. In such a situation, the club’s senior managers have met in Monaco to decide on the future of the team, and Michael Carrick has been removed from his position after recent poor results. Mauricio Pochettino is currently the most serious option to replace Carrick. The managers of United have even agreed to terminate the new contract of this Argentinian coach with the American national team in order to prepare for his presence at Old Trafford.
Despite Pochettino approaching the Manchester United bench, talksport reported that a number of players in the team preferred Unai Emery to take over the leadership of the Red Devils. The Spanish head coach of Aston Villa was one of the popular options to replace Carrick and his impressive performance in this team made him a popular choice among some United players.
During his time at Aston Villa, Emery led the team to the Champions League twice and won the Europa League last season. Along with these successes, he managed the club’s financial conditions and coped with the departure of several famous players in the summer window. The successful career of this coach in Sevilla, Villarreal and Valencia has also established his position as one of the leading European football coaches.
The difference between Pochettino’s and Emery’s record in the Premier League
Emery had a bitter experience at Old Trafford last Sunday. Aston Villa lost their two-goal lead twice in a spectacular match that ended in a 4-4 draw. This incident infuriated the Spanish head coach so much that he angrily went to the stadium tunnel before the final whistle. However, Emery’s credit is still high and only his not so successful presence in Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, under the heavy pressure of leading these two clubs, is considered one of the negative points of his coaching career.
On the other hand, Pochettino returns to English football after one season at Chelsea. In his first and only season on the bench of the London Blues, he placed this team in sixth place in the Premier League. Of course, Pochettino’s best era in the Premier League goes back to his presence in Tottenham; where he managed to bring this team to the third place in the table in two consecutive seasons. This performance in 2018 made him one of the main options to lead Manchester United, but in the end, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reached this position.
Pochettino’s difficult mission at Old Trafford
If his appointment is finalised, Pochettino will take over a troubled and disjointed team that is in the relegation zone of the Premier League. His first mission will be to get Manchester United out of this area and create unity in the dressing room, where some of his players apparently preferred another option to lead the team.
In addition to improving results, Pochettino must also gain the confidence of the players in order to save the nightmare season of the Red Devils.
Read more: Urgent Michael Carrick was fired from Manchester United
