Krishnan Sreekumar
Graham Potter told he cannot turn down Manchester United job by ex-Brighton boss Gus Poyet
Speaking to bettingexpert (h/t Daily Star), former Brighton & Hove Albion manager Gus Poyet has told current Seagulls boss Graham Potter that he cannot turn down the Manchester United permanent manager job in the summer.
It is no secret that United are in need of a new permanent manager at the end of the season once interim boss Ralf Rangnick’s tenure at the club expires. The German had taken over from Ole Gunnar Solskjær late last year after the club sacked the club legend after disappointing results in the league.
Poyet, who led Brighton to the League One title in 2011, said that if Potter is given the opportunity to take the vacant permanent manager position in the summer, then he must take the job.
“If Graham Potter is offered the Man United job then he must go.”
Potter is doing a brilliant job with the Seagulls at the moment, with the south coast club sitting in the top half of the Premier League table despite not having a squad full of world-renowned superstars or an unlimited budget for transfers.
“Sorry Brighton”
United will be looking for a person who can guide the team back to its glory days, and would ideally want someone who has prior experience at big clubs and has a trophy-laden track record as manager.
Poyet seems to think the same, and said that Potter may not have what the Red Devils are looking for in a new permanent manager, but backed the current Brighton boss to give it a go in Manchester if the situation arises where he is offered the role.
“Sorry Brighton, but that’s the situation. Does he have the kind of profile that Man United will be looking for? I’m not so sure. I’m not talking about the football he plays or his personality as Man United normally look for coaches with a bigger experience in big teams, especially winning titles.”
Potter neither has the experience managing a ‘giant’ football club nor has won any trophies in the Premier League or in Europe to have the qualifications that the Old Trafford side may be looking for in their shortlist of potential candidates for the vacancy at the club.
In the past, United took a similar approach by appointing David Moyes as their new permanent manager despite him not having a trophy-laden career at Everton. The decision backfired horribly as the club was forced to sack him within the year after stumbling down the league table.
Multiple managers have followed since Moyes, but the club has failed to find the right fit for itself. This is evident from the fact that they last won a trophy in 2017. Hopefully, this summer sets the record straight.
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That isn’t to say that only winning top trophies are a measure of an upcoming manager. If that was the case, Manchester United and Arsenal would have been foolish to appoint Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger respectively.
But things are different now. United aren’t in a position to wait for years before a manager can make them top dogs once again. A gaffer who has prior experience of managing a club similar in stature to the Red Devils, and showing that he has what it takes to guide them to trophies, would naturally present themselves as a safer option to take over the helm this summer.
