Pep Guardiola hails ‘excellent’ Pochettino amid Man Utd links - ‘You can be a top manager and not win titles’

Pep Guardiola has backed Mauricio Pochettino as an “excellent manager” despite his lack of silverware.

The Paris Saint-Germain boss will be in Manchester on Wednesday as his side take on City in the Champions League group stages amid growing belief across town at Old Trafford that the Argentine could be prepared to leave his current job and replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

While silverware is not necessarily the best barometer of a manager’s success, the lack of major trophies on Pochettino’s CV has frequently been used as a stick to beat him with.

However, speaking ahead of the game, Guardiola stressed that trophies and trinkets are not the be-all and all of elite management. Nuance must be applied.

“I am sure managers are better every year. Every season you have a lot of learnings. I am pretty sure he is an excellent manager,” he said.

“You can be a top manager and not win titles. For the managers who have a chance to win is because you are at top clubs, with good investment and top players. That doesn’t mean managers in the Championship or not at the top of the Premier League aren’t excellent managers.”

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