Pochettino's slow starts at previous clubs cast shadow over Man Utd rescue mission

Mauricio Pochettino is poised to become Manchester United’s new manager after the club sacked Michael Carrick on Thursday, with the Argentine inheriting a side rooted in the Premier League relegation zone having won just one of their opening 10 league fixtures this season.

Carrick’s departure ends a brief and difficult tenure at Old Trafford, and United have moved quickly to appoint a coach with extensive Premier League pedigree. Yet history suggests the transition may not deliver an immediate lift.

At Chelsea, Pochettino managed just one win from his first six league games after taking over mid-season. A similarly slow start marked his early weeks at Southampton and Espanyol, while at Tottenham he won two and drew two of his opening four. His most encouraging mid-season arrival came at Paris Saint-Germain, where he won four of his first six Ligue 1 matches.

The timing of his appointment adds further complexity. Pochettino is expected to remain with the United States national team for their two upcoming fixtures against Haiti before travelling to Manchester, with the second of those games finishing in the early hours of Wednesday morning — leaving little preparation time ahead of what is likely to be his first game in charge.

That opening fixture is expected to be a trip to Liverpool, followed by a Champions League away tie against Sporting Lisbon. Matches against Brentford, Newcastle, and Coventry City follow in the Premier League before RB Leipzig visit Old Trafford.

Despite the difficult picture, the condensed nature of the table offers some encouragement. A single victory could lift United out of the bottom three, and back-to-back wins may be enough to push them into the top half.

Pochettino’s longer-term record does carry genuine weight. His Chelsea tenure, which ended with a fifth-place finish, has been reassessed more favourably given the club’s subsequent struggles. At Tottenham, he built one of the most admired sides in the Premier League era. United’s hope is that, given time, he can replicate something similar at Old Trafford.