Former Manchester United superstar Dimitar Berbatov has urged Mauricio Pochettino to emulate Sir Alex Ferguson at Tottenham.
In an interview with The Sun, Dimitar Berbatov has thrown his weight behind Mauricio Pochettino to emulate one of the greatest managers he played under. The former Manchester United superstar has urged the Tottenham Hotspur boss to stay put at the North London club for several years and mirror Sir Alex Ferguson in doing so.
Mauricio Pochettino has become one of the most revered managers across Europe since making his way to the Premier League in the 2012-13 season, when he joined Southampton. After leading the Saints to a eighth-placed finish in the Premier League in the following campaign, the Argentine joined Tottenham, whom he has inspired to much success.
While Spurs have not won any trophies in nearly five years under Pochettino, they have become a force to be reckoned with, and a genuine Champions League outfit. In the last half-a-decade, the 47-year-old has also built a formidable squad that can go toe-to-toe with the best of sides in Europe.
But, the 2018-19 season has been one of frustration for the former defender, who has seen Tottenham stutter at an alarming rate this term. Over the course of the season, Pochettino has also been linked with Manchester United and Real Madrid, as per widespread reports.
But, those options remain no longer possible, with Zinedine Zidane returning to the Real Madrid hotseat while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed as the permanent Manchester United boss last week.
With Pochettino now set to stay put at Tottenham, former Manchester United and Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov has urged him to emulate Sir Alex Ferguson at the club, claiming that the manager has everything at his disposal to enjoy several successful years with Spurs.
“Mauricio has everything he needs to succeed — a new home, a state-of-the-art training ground and the challenge now is to win something. He must get irritated at everyone going on about it — I do it and irritate myself!”
“But it is the next stage of their development. With the way modern football is, I can’t see anyone repeating the longevity of Sir Alex or Wenger but I’d like Pochettino to prove me wrong. He’s definitely the man to take them forwards.”
Tottenham’s last game before making their way to their new stadium was a 1-1 draw against Arsenal, while they were beaten by Liverpool this past weekend. Spurs have petered off after a fantastic start to their Premier League campaign.
The North Londoners though, will hope for their first league win in nearly two months when they host Crystal Palace at their new stadium. As for Pochettino, with no other big jobs left for him for the time being, it will be interesting to see if he indeed stays put at Tottenham for several more years, as former Manchester United striker Berbatov has asked him to do.