Poch is making hay while the Son shines

COLLY

IF there’s one player who underlines why Manchester United see Mauricio Pochettino as Jose Mourinho’s successor, it is Son Heung-min.

When Son arrived at Tottenham, I made the mistake, like many others, of pinning him down as a squad man.

I thought he’d come in for three or four matches, for games at the lower end of the Premier League and Champions League, and then be back on the bench.

I thought he’d be merely an impact player, a squad man who’d get the requisite number of games rather than someone Spurs fans would pin their hopes on.

I remember doing a little appraisal of him on radio and saying: “He picks the ball up from distance, he can go past people, and he clatters it in from 25 yards.” And in the early days he proved me right.

He was very much about the quality of goals, not the quantity. He wasn’t a reliable scorer week in, week out.

Platform

When Harry Kane got injured, I questioned where Tottenham’s goals would come from because I didn’t believe Son could fill the gap.

But he responded well to Kane’s absence and, having used his form then as a platform, he is now so much more than the player many of us expected him to be.

To such an extent that I’d imagine Kane’s is the only name guaranteed on Pochettino’s teamsheet before Son’s at the moment.

Possibly Christian Eriksen’s as well, but certainly nobody else’s.

I know some people will say, ‘What about Toby Alderweireld now he’s back in favour? What about Hugo Lloris?’

But in terms of importance to the team right now, Son figures higher.

That’s why Spurs supporters will miss him while he is away on Asian Cup duty with South Korea, who he joins up with after today’s game against United.

And it just goes to show the job Pochettino has done at Tottenham – not just with Son but the whole squad – and the value he brings as a coach.

The Argentinian is a classic example of a manager who makes average players good, good players very good, and – this is particularly important to United – very good players great.

And even though there’s a lot of goodwill towards Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford, and rightly so, it’s why United will go for a manager with a track record at the top end of the Premier League or abroad.

Solskjaer is an Old Trafford legend but that does not necessarily translate into victories, particularly in the top two or three per cent of games which United should be aiming to win over the next couple of seasons.

United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward will have looked at what Pochettino has done with Son, changing the way Spurs fans and wider followers of football see him and, inside a couple of seasons, turning him into a must- pick player.

And he will have wondered what Poch could do with Paul Pogba, with Alexis Sanchez, and with some of the younger players at United.

Today’s game won’t make a difference to Woodward’s longerterm thinking It’s not an audition for Solskjaer or Pochettino, and the result won’t decide who will fill the Old Trafford hot seat next season.

But after sacking Mourinho, Woodward and United will have shortlisted a handful of candidates and, for me, the Spurs boss (with Son, right) is the outstanding one.

Testament

All players want to play in an environment in which they feel comfortable.

And that comfort comes from hours on the training ground with a manager who will put an arm around them and give them the biggest thing a manager can give – the confidence to go and express themselves.

Every time Son laughs and smiles you can see he has that and that he is loving life at Spurs.

It’s a huge testament both to the player and to his manager.