Tottenham's defeat against Chelsea was bad news for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Manchester United 's hierarchy will have been impressed with Mauricio Pochettino's humility in defeat, says former Arsenal player and Skysports pundit, Paul Merson.
Spurs let another opportunity to win silverware painfully slip away from them at Stamford Bridge on Thursday when they lost on penalties to Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Pochettino, despite having Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Heung-Min Son unavailable, did not look for excuses for the defeat, which will have been noted by the United hierarchy, according to Merson.
"Tottenham's defeat at Chelsea doesn't help Ole Gunnar Solskjaer," he told Sky Sports.
"Manchester United will have been watching from a distance and yet again he showed he's a class act in defeat. How many managers do you see moaning about how unlucky they were to lose on penalties? Pochettino was gracious.
"Other managers would have found excuses. The result went against Spurs but he never blamed anyone or moaned about the injury list - he just says that's the way it is. He never moans about the board, either.
"He'll be thinking 'how far can I take this team?' He's not silly.
"I think Pochettino wants to win things."
There has been widespread praise for Solskjaer, who took over from Jose Mourinho, for being able to turn things around so quickly at United.
The Norwegian's most recent feat saw him pursue Arsenal out of the FA Cup with a 3-1 defeat at the Emirates stadium, keeping his 100% record since taking over at United intact.
Pochettino's position as major favourite to take over at the end of the season has been well established, with many United legends such as 'Ichie' Wazza declaring Pochettino their top candidate for the job.
Even though Pochettino's consistency despite the limited resources at Tottenham is something to admire, there's no reason why Ole shouldn't be allowed to continue his wonderful work in moving the United ministry to the permanent site.
Come rain, come Harmattan; come summer, come winter; come Pochetinno, come Zidane; In Ole We Trust"
GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED.