Former Tottenham striker Darren Bent claims Mauricio Pochettino is NOT world-class

Former Tottenham striker Darren Bent has claimed that Mauricio Pochettino is not a world class manager despite taking Spurs to a Champions League final in 2019.  

Bent stated that Pochettino’s lack of trophies has prevented him from entering the same bracket as the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola. 

Bent said taking a team to a Champions League final is not ‘enough’ and even insisted that Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta are far more superior than Pochettino.  

Ex-Spurs striker Darren Bent has said that Mauricio Pochettino is not a world class manager

Bent says Pochettino’s lack of trophies exclude him from the Klopp and Guardiola bracket

When asked if he thought the Argentinian manager was world class, Bent told TalkSPORT: ‘I don’t think he is.

‘When I look at elite managers, I obviously look at people like Klopp, Guardiola and even [Carlo] Ancelotti from what he’s done. 

‘I can’t put Pochettino in that bracket. Not yet, I know he’s been at Spurs and he’s not won anything at Spurs. [You can’t] elevate him all of a sudden because he got a team to a Champions League final and a League Cup final.

‘That’s not world [class] level management, for me. I think he’s good but I just don’t think he’s in that bracket. I’d put Brendan Rodgers ahead of him. I think Brendan Rodgers as a coach and a manager is absolutely superb. 

Bent has also claimed that both Brendan Rodgers and Mikel Arteta are more superior than him

‘For me, Arteta’s a better coach than Pochettino as well. You look at Spurs and what Pochettino did at Spurs and he took them to a level. 

‘Daniel Levy, at the end of the day, after all that great work that Poch had done, developing these players and turning Dele Alli and Harry Kane into what he did, he [Levy] still needed someone to come in and win them trophies.

‘He felt like Pochettino could not do that.

‘When I say Pochettino’s greatest achievement at Spurs, people will say “He got them to a Champions League final” but is that enough? Does that automatically catapult you into that elite bracket because you took a team to a Champions League final? For me, it doesn’t. 

‘Arteta has gone in at Arsenal, it’s not even been a year, and look what he’s done there. He’s identified the players that he’s got, defensively they’ve not been great and he’s completely changed that around.

‘[He’s] gone in there and won an FA Cup, won a Community Shield and beat some of the biggest teams out there. He’s managed to find a way of getting it done.’

Bent said it was not enough to take Spurs to the Champions League final, he had to win it 

Pochettino has insisted that he is ready to make a return to management after a year out

The former Spurs manager and his backroom staff were sacked by Tottenham’s chairman Daniel Levy last November following a poor run of results and failure to win their Champions League final against Liverpool. 

Pochettino has, however, captured the attention of several European giants since his departure from Spurs.

Real Madrid are among a host of clubs are reportedly eyeing up the Argentine boss. 

Speaking of his long-awaited return to management, Pochettino said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football: ‘I am always ready to go again and be involved in the game.

‘It’s not stress when you are working, it’s not stress going into the training round to prepare the match and to compete.

‘I hope to go back soon so we can start again to work. I am looking forward to being back in the game. I love this game but it’s difficult. We are inside and working on doing things. That’s the reality.’