‘He’s never won a trophy’ – Pundit pours cold water on theory that Mauricio Pochettino will ever land a top job

News that Mauricio Pochettino could be in the running to be the new Newcastle manager, should the club’s takeover conclude successfully, has been rebuffed by Danny Murphy.

Speaking on talkSPORT, the pundit went as far as suggesting that the Argentinian might find it difficult to get a job at a top club again.

“I was one of his biggest fans,” Murphy said.

“How he brought players forward and coached them to get better and he wasn’t always in the moment of, ‘we have to win or else’.

“He developed players and the team really quickly and brilliantly.

“The problem he’s got is the big, big clubs who desperately want success yesterday, Tottenham being one of them when they brought [Jose] Mourinho in, usually go down the route of who is tried and tested.

“It’s the same with players. If you want success quickly, you need the best. When Liverpool brought in [Rafa] Benitez [in 2004], his biggest attribute was that he’d won the league in Spain and Liverpool wanted to win the league in England.

“Tottenham want silverware, the fans want silverware, they bring in Mourinho and paid the earth for it because everywhere he’s gone he’s won silverware.

“Pochettino hasn’t, so he needs a club who are a bit like him, which is progressive, on the way up, something that’s going to take a bit of time.

“Newcastle have been talked about, I understand that. But if Newcastle’s owners have got that much money and they want success now, would you give [the job] to Pochettino? He’s never won a trophy.”

Both at Southampton and latterly at Tottenham, Pochettino carved out a reputation for playing wonderful, free-flowing football that was a joy to watch.

That he did so at White Hart Lane whilst consistently bringing through youth players and operating on a shoestring budget ensured that he deserved all of the plaudits that came his way.

Not to mention that he was 90 minutes away from bringing the club their first-ever Champions League title after guiding them to the final via two epic wins at Manchester City and Ajax.

However, Murphy is right. Pochettino hasn’t won any silverware in all that time, and for the biggest clubs, having that single element missing on your managerial CV is surely a big no-no.