Manchester United should bring in Mauricio Pochettino as manager now

This is not an easy thing to say or write about a guy as nice as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but if I was Ed Woodward I believe the time has come to make a change in the Manchester United managerial seat.

Ole will forever be an Old Trafford legend and I bought into what he was trying to do. But it isn't working - and not just because of the 3-2 Champions League defeat to Leipzig.

For a while it has been pretty clear that United just won't get where they want to be without that top-level coach running the show. Football is a harsh world and this feels like it needs to happen sooner rather than later.

Is Solskjaer the man to take the fight to Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola over the course of a season? No. Would Mauricio Pochettino? Absolutely, as he showed at Tottenham when it was just the finishing touch of a trophy that was missing.

Give Pochettino the budget and he can get United flying again but whoever comes in - should Ole be sacked of course - will be dealing with a difficult situation with Paul Pogba.

It was wrong on so many levels for his agent to come out on the eve of the Leipzig game and suggest Pogba wants to leave. The fact he didn't detach himself from the comments tells its own story and it was so unfair towards Solskjaer to drop that at the worst possible time.

I am not one of those habitual Pogba knockers. He is an incredibly talented player who is good enough to play for any side on the planet but Pogba has become a sideshow, much like Mesut Ozil at Arsenal albeit with different circumstances, and you can't allow that.

Pogba has been given enough chances and it's time for United to get rid of the World Cup winner.

Despite all of the negativity around the club after the Champions League exit, don't be surprised if United pull something out of the bag in Saturday's Manchester derby at home to City.

This is a game that should suit United. The way City play will dictate the game where the visitors have all the possession and United can hit on the counter, while no fans being inside Old Trafford will mean Solskjaer can be even more pragmatic to suit the approach needed.

Boring Boring Tottenham

Talking of pragmatic brings us on to Premier League leaders Tottenham and their style of play, which isn't for me.

It's Jose Mourinho all over, and ultimately if he wins a trophy people will say that is all that matters. Maybe those people are right, but I don't think it will win them a trophy and I don't think it suits the players Spurs have to be so defensive despite their recent results.

Getting supporters back is huge

I never thought 2,000 supporters could make such a difference but the noise generated at Stamford Bridge, White Hart Lane and Anfield over the course of last weekend was fantastic.

Home advantage could be worth a little bit more to those in Tiers One and Two over the Christmas period.

*Scott Minto presents the Racing Post's weekly YouTube show Different League in association with Betfred

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