Wayne Rooney calls for Mauricio Pochettino to be Red Devils boss

Wayne Rooney believes Manchester United should “go all out” to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as their next permanent manager.

Manchester United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, right, embraces Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, left, at Wembley Stadium last week. Picture: AP

Wayne Rooney believes Manchester United should “go all out” to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as their next permanent manager, despite his friendship with former teammate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Interviewed by the US sports network, ESPN, during a Major-league Soccer (MLS) media day in Los Angeles, United’s record goalscorer described Pochettino as a perfect fit for his old club, thanks to his history of building teams around youth.

Speaking before United’s victory against Brighton on Saturday which extended Solskjaer’s record start as United boss to seven consecutive wins, Rooney said: “I think first of all you have to give Ole an opportunity, if he continues the way he is going then I’m sure that will be a discussion with Ed Woodward and the Glazers whether he keeps the job. But if I had the opportunity to appoint somebody then I would go all out for Pochettino.”

Pressed to explain his reasoning by ESPN, Rooney added: “Manchester United — certainly over the past 20, 30 years, since Alex Ferguson — have based themselves on youth players, young players, bringing players through.

“I think [Pochettino] gets the best out of his players whether they are young or older players, and he also gives youth a chance. You see some of the young players he has brought through at Tottenham and at Southampton that have gone on to play for the national team, so he ticks every box in terms of his quality as a coach but also his willingness to give the younger players a chance.”

Former England and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney. Picture: AFP

Rooney spent three seasons as teammate to Solskjaer at Old Trafford and worked closely with the Norwegian when Solskjaer was United’s strikers coach during their Premier League and Champions League season of 2007-08. Despite remaining on good terms with his former colleague, and encouraging Solskjaer via a series of text messages before Solskjaer’s first game as United interim manager, Rooney still sees Pochettino as a better bet.

Rooney, now at DC United, is United’s leading all-time scorer, adding the last of his 253 goals for the club under Jose Mourinho before leaving at the end of 2016-17. He suggested Solskjaer better understands the management required of United players than did Mourinho, with his didactic approach.

“Ole was a fantastic player and is a clever person,” said Rooney. “I’ve spoken to Ole and he’s just let [the players] play and you can see the results. [Though] I don’t think anybody would have expected the start he’s had to his management career at Manchester United.”

Under Mourinho “it wasn’t nice watching Manchester United over the last year. Knowing the players, they weren’t happy, they weren’t enjoying it.

“The one thing Ole has done is said go and play, you are good players, go and express yourselves, enjoy it.

“If you take Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and said, ‘You have to do this and that’ they’re not going to be the same players.

“When you’re at Manchester United you’re good enough to know how to play the game and what to do on the pitch. You don’t really need [to be told]. You need small details of course but the biggest thing those players need is to be told to express themselves.”

Reflecting on his former teammate Paul Pogba’s upturn since Mourinho’s departure, Rooney said: “Pogba will give the ball away. He’ll try passes and it won’t be the right pass at times. But you’ve got to let him do that because two or three of those passes will create goals and opportunities.

“He found it difficult under Mourinho. Maybe a player and a manager with egos, big egos, who clashed and the outcome was never going to be great.”