Former Tottenham star Toby Alderweireld says Mauricio Pochettino is the man to change the mentality at Manchester United and will bring intensity to the team.
Michael Carrick has been dismissed as Red Devils manager, with confirmation coming from the club on Thursday morning.
The club legend’s interim stint from January to the end of last season could scarcely have gone better, but his permanent spell in charge has been disastrous, with United winning just one of their 10 Premier League games this campaign.
Pochettino is now expected to be announced as Carrick’s replacement, with the USA manager set to leave his role and return to the Premier League where he has previously managed Chelsea, Southampton and Spurs.
His stint in charge of Tottenham was the most significant of his career, leading the club to a Champions League and second-place finish in the Premier League.
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Alderweireld was a big part of that success, playing for Spurs from 2015-21, and he has high hopes for his former boss at Old Trafford.
‘He will make players fit, that’s for sure,’ the Belgian told talkSPORT. ‘Second of all he brings intensity. It’s not like everyone is playing their own game, he wants a team that’s going to be on the front foot. He wants to play pressure and having the ball as well.
‘A clear idea, intensity and players being fit, I think that’s the way he likes to work.’
Alderweireld reckons Pochettino is going to want the club to bend to his will to some extent, expecting the Argentine to insist on influence in the transfer market.
‘The summer, maybe the winter as well, the transfer window is going to be the players that he wants,’ said the former defender.
‘Also the facilities are going to be built also to the things that he wants. Making players fit, food-wise, gym-wise, everything needs to be how he wants it, that’s a big part of his philosophy.
‘Then he’ll want to buy the players. Maybe not always the biggest names, biggest talents, but guys with desire to win, desire to become better, desire to run. I think if you see the players he bought for Spurs, that’s thing number one, the desire to become better, the desire to win games, wins duels, to run.
‘That’s why I think Pochettino is the man for Man United, to change things around. In the past couple of transfer windows they’ve bought good players, good quality but they miss some chemistry, they miss the intensity and I think Pochettino will bring that.
‘He brings the mentality. If you work hard and bring your A game every single day, everything you want you can achieve. He will bring intensity and the mindset will change at Man United.’