Mauricio Pochettino Coy on Manchester United Rumours After Jose Mourinho Sacking

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino was coy on questions about reported interest from Manchester United at his press conference on Tuesday.

The Red Devils confirmed earlier in the day in a statement on their official website that Jose Mourinho had been axed following the club's worst start to a season in the Premier League era.

According to Mark Ogden of ESPN FC, Pochettino is United's first choice to take over as manager at the end of the campaign.

When asked about the links, the Spurs boss said he was happy to be where he is, per Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph:

"After nearly five years, there's a lot of rumours happened about my position as manager of Tottenham. These rumours happen in football. I respect everyone's opinion, when people praise me, when they are angry with me, when they say different things.

"We know rumours happen. It's not my business what happens at another club. I'm so focused to deliver our best job at this club."

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Pochettino went on to say he is focused on the upcoming clash between Spurs and north London rivals Arsenal, with the two teams set to meet at the Emirates Stadium in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.

The Tottenham manager also sent his best wishes to Mourinho after the Portuguese was given his marching orders:

It makes sense that Pochettino would be a candidate for the Red Devils, as he has done an exceptional job with Tottenham.

During his time with Spurs, the team has been transformed from a flaky and inconsistent outfit into a side that regularly qualifies for the UEFA Champions League. Players like Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli have all made incredible progress under the guidance of the former Argentina international.

Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News thinks Pochettino should be United's priority regardless of the fact he's yet to win silverware with Spurs:

There would be potential stumbling blocks if the Red Devils did want to get the Tottenham boss in, though.

Pochettino only signed a new long-term deal with Spurs in the summer, including an annual salary of £8.5 million. According to Matt Hughes of The Times, the Manchester outfit would have to pay £34 million to release the coach from his contract.

In addition, Tottenham and United appear to be moving in opposite directions at the moment.

BBC Sport's Phil McNulty is unsure if Pochettino would want to trade the former for the latter:

With United confirming they will bring in a temporary manager until the end of this season, speculation will continue to rumble on about the identity of the long-term appointment.

As such, it's not a shock Pochettino has decided to be relatively non-committal in what he's had to say. Throughout the course of the 2018-19 campaign, you sense he will have to answer many more questions on this subject.