Former Manchester United defender, Paul Parker, has advised Mauricio Pochettino to stay away from the Newcastle United job amidst rumours that the club’s new owners want him to take over.
Newcastle United’s £300 million takeover by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund is expected to go through in the coming weeks after the fit and proper person test is completed (Sun).
Sky Sports revealed last week that Pochettino was the number one choice to be the next Newcastle boss as the club’s prospective new owners were impressed with the rebuilding work he did at Tottenham.
The report claimed that the Magpies’ new owners were prepared to make the 48-year-old one of the highest-paid managers in world football.
Football Insider previously reported that the former Spurs boss is willing to listen to Newcastle’s proposal and will accept the job if he finds the project ambitious enough.
However, Parker feels that the job in the North East is a poisoned chalice and that an injection of cash will certainly not guarantee success at Newcastle.
In his column for Eurosport, the former Man Utd star wrote: “Pochettino has been linked to the top job at Newcastle, but I think that would be like walking into a minefield because as soon as you walk in, they’ll be wanting you to go and win something. They’ll be throwing Alan Shearer and Kevin Keegan at you, and it’s a difficult job with that expectation.
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“Money doesn’t guarantee you anything at Newcastle, because you still have to entice players to come and live somewhere quite remote, and that’s the hardest bit. Foreign owners want big-name players, and they need a big name to attract them.
“It would be a very difficult job for someone new to walk into, and Pochettino would be better off leaving it and seeing how it goes under new ownership with the present manager. Steve Bruce will know that foreign investors won’t be patient and that his time is limited. Although we know differently, and Steve Bruce is a massive name in English football, foreign owners might not consider him high profile enough to go out and bring in the big-name players through a high profile agent.
“Wherever he goes next, I hope Pochettino can go somewhere to prove himself for what he is which is a very good manager. He ran Spurs on a shoestring with Daniel Levy, and he’s willing to balance books. He didn’t sulk, he didn’t shout and scream about not getting the money or not being able to get a certain player, he just got on with it and there was cohesion within that team.
“That changed the moment they got in that stadium and there’s a link there somewhere. Something broke, and as we know from football, a small little crack can turn into the Grand Canyon.”
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Taking over at Newcastle United is certainly not in Pochettino’s best interest. Even with the injection of cash, it will probably take the club around four to five years to establish themselves in the top four and compete for the biggest trophies. So, even if Pochettino succeeds in helping take them to that level, there will be question marks over the lack of silverware in his managerial career. His next job has to be one where he can go in and compete for major trophies straight away.
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