Despite winning the Ligue 1 title in 2021-22, it has been speculated that Mauricio Pochettino is on borrowed time.
Mauricio Pochettino, the under-fire head coach at Paris Saint-Germain, has told the club’s board that they should back him in the same way that Manchester City does with Pep Guardiola, while stressing that he is “cool” about his situation at the Parc des Princes.
Pochettino has won three titles since taking over as PSG manager in January 2021, including the Ligue 1 triumph last season.
The Argentine has contributed to the club’s continued dominance in French football, but he has been mostly assessed on his failure in Europe, with a round of 16 loss to Real Madrid in March raising doubts about his future.
PSG are reportedly planning to fire Pochettino as they work out a new project following the signing of star forward Kylian Mbappe to a contract extension.
Both Zinedine Zidane and Jose Mourinho have been mentioned as possible candidates for the former Tottenham manager, but he is unconcerned about media conjecture and feels he is the best man for the job.
“I have one year left on my contract and there are a lot of rumours. Every week I am fired,” Pochettino said in an interview with Esport3.
“PSG arouses this kind of thing. The club is trying to reinvent itself. The president will soon explain his new project, but I’m calm.
“To get there (at PSG), you have to be a good coach and after a year and a half there, I feel like one of the best. To lead a locker room with so many stars was a daily learning experience.
“We were very close to knocking out Madrid, like Chelsea, City and Liverpool. We went through it. I think we were far superior, but we missed the finishing touch. If the objective is to win the Champions League, it is normal to generate this kind of storm.”
Pochettino is proud of what he has accomplished at PSG and does not believe the Champions League should be given such a high priority.
He does believe, though, that if he was given more “opportunity to create,” he would have a better chance of bringing a first European crown to Parc des Princes.
Guardiola’s longevity at City has been used by Pochettino as an example, despite the Spaniard’s failure to win the Champions League in his six years in Manchester.
“I like City because they gave Guardiola the opportunity to build. They gave him time. At PSG, you also need that. By giving serenity to this project, we will be close to winning the Champions League.”
