Jose Mourinho remains in the spotlight this week after leading his side to a remarkable 3-2 comeback win over Newcastle at Old Trafford. An inspired half-time team talk and a few tactical tweaks meant his side were able to come back from the two-goal deficit, roared on by the home crowd. However, despite this win against the struggling Magpies, Mourinho remains the odds-on favourite to be the next manager to leave in the Premier League.
However, there may not be any alternatives to replace the Portuguese boss who remain in charge due to the lack of viable replacements. We run through some of the favourites to get the job and the reasons why they will not get it.
Zinedine Zidane
Zidane is still the hot favourite to become the next Manchester United manager but his agent has said that he is unlikely to manage in the Premier League. "I don't think he'll go to England, it's not his style," Alain Migliaccio explained. "I've spoken about it with him and the truth is that it doesn't attract him."
The three-time Champions League winning manager would be the biggest name currently available to Manchester United but Zidane looks unlikely to take a job at Old Trafford.
Antonio Conte
Former Italy, Juventus and Chelsea manager would be a shock appointment for Manchester United. The 49-year-old was sacked by Chelsea this summer despite winning the Premier League and the FA Cup with the Blues in his two years in charge. He certainly has the credentials to take over at another big club, but United will not want to take on one of Chelsea’s cast offs.
They will be looking to aim higher than a man who failed to lead Chelsea to the top four last season and would not be considered an upgrade on Jose Mourinho.
Mauricio Pochettino
The one man who many fans and pundits see as a potential Man Utd or Real Madrid manager in future. Mauricio Pochettino is one of the top managers in world football and would be welcomed with open arms at Old Trafford, if they could prize him away from Spurs.
But Pochettino seems happy at Tottenham and with their new stadium on the horizon, they are arguably on a level playing field with Manchester United, if not above them at the moment. Pochettino is also yet to win a trophy at Spurs, a record that would see him sacked if he replicated the same thing at Manchester United. A wonderful manager but this move is not going to happen, not for now anyway.
Brendan Rodgers
Former Liverpool boss and the current Celtic gaffer is fourth favourite to take over from Jose Mourinho. Imagine the uproar from the United fans if Rodgers was chosen as his successor, it would be David Moyes round two.
I actually like Brendan as a manager and think he would do a decent job in the Premier League but not at a club like Manchester United. He may have consistently delivered league title in the past three seasons, but his failings in European competition and his spell at rivals Liverpool make this one a no-go.
Roberto Martinez
Yep. Roberto Martinez really is the fifth most likely person to take over from Mourinho, according to the bookies. The dancing, prancing, former Everton boss is currently in charge of Belgium and did a pretty darn good job during the World Cup but there is no way he will take over from Manchester United. Absolutely no chance. He does not have the CV or the managerial credentials and would face a hammering from the press and fans.
They have already tried and failed with one former Everton boss, I don’t think they will go there again.
So that is it. They are the top five candidates for the United job and none of them stand out, in fact, once you get past the top three it becomes wildly unrealistic and silly. There are simply no viable available managers to replace Mourinho. Manchester United’s board may be stupid, but even they would not risk swapping one of the top managers in the world for someone on this list. Zidane aside, things would not look bright for Manchester United.
