The ex-Red Devils midfielder admits constant change in the dugout is never a good thing, but feels some poor decisions have been made at Old Trafford
Mauricio Pochettino remains the “ideal fit” for Manchester United, says Paul Ince, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer never the right choice as the Red Devils now face a battle to finish in the Premier League’s top-half.
Ince has never shied away from the fact that he believes the wrong decision was taken when handing a permanent contract to Solskjaer on a the back of a productive opening to his spell as interim boss.
The former United midfielder stands by those claims, with struggles currently being endured at Old Trafford, and feels a move to lure Pochettino away from domestic rivals Tottenham remains the best option if an opportunity presents itself.
Ince told FourFourTwo: “At the time last season, I felt Pochettino was the man.
“He was an ideal fit for Manchester United, given the finances he’d have at his disposal at Old Trafford, compared to what he has at Tottenham.
“It would have been the next step for him, but obviously that wasn’t to be. What’s happened at Tottenham this season doesn’t change the way I felt then.”
Ince has been outspoken in his criticism of United of late and believes it will be a long road back to the top for the 13-time Premier League champions.
He added: “They’re a young team and there’s going to be some inconsistency in their performances and results.
“But it’s a little bit worrying that there’s not been any progress. It’s not always about winning games. I think Man United fans understand that the quality isn’t there yet – they’ve got five or six players who’ve been out injured.
“But you still want to see progress in what they’re doing, and we’re not seeing that. We didn’t see it against AZ Alkmaar, and we didn’t see it against Newcastle. That’s what people are getting a bit critical of – not having a shot against AZ Alkmaar, and against Newcastle they had two shots that didn’t really trouble the goalkeeper.
“When you look at Frank [Lampard’s] team at Chelsea, you see what they’re doing – scoring goals and creating chances.
“Man United fans can deal with the results as long as you’re seeing a performance on the pitch where the Newcastle goalkeeper got man of the match and made eight saves, they’ve hit the post and the bar. You can accept that, but we’re not seeing that – we’re not seeing chances.”
United’s inability to piece positive performances and results together has left them 12th in the English top-flight heading into a meeting with table-topping Liverpool on Sunday.
Ince fears for the Red Devils, saying: “People talk about relegation – they’re not going to go down, let’s get that out of our heads.
“I don’t know why people are saying that – they could finish in the bottom half, but who knows, they could finish in the top half.
“They’ve got enough quality to finish in the top half, but it’s about the gap to the teams at the top. Leicester are five points ahead – that could be eight if United lose on Sunday.”
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