Pochettino should manage Man United if not Solskjaer: Rooney

Manchester United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deserves the chance to take over as permanent boss while Tottenham Hotspur’s Mauricio Pochettino is be the best alternative, according to former club captain Wayne Rooney.Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho in December and has guided United to seven wins and a draw in the Premier League to make a compelling case for his appointment ahead of early bookmakers’ favourite Pochettino.The Norwegian has helped United go within two points of the top four while also reviving a free-flowing style of soccer that had gone missing under Mourinho. “It’d be nice to see Ole Gunnar continue with this form and get a shot at the job on a permanent basis,” Rooney, United’s all time record scorer, told CNN World Sport in an interview. “But if not, if the club go to choose from somewhere else, then I think Pochettino would be the right guy.”Pochettino has previously said he was fully committed to delivering results in his current job but that has done little to quell speculation about his future at Tottenham. The Argentine, who joined Tottenham from Southampton in 2014, has guided the London club to consecutive top-three finishes in the league, but he is yet to win a trophy. Solskjaer said last week the owners of Norwegian club Molde, who sent him to Old Trafford with their blessing, had asked him to try to turn his temporary stint into a permanent role. United are expected to make a decision on their manager at the end of the season. Solskjaer’s side face Fulham in the league on Saturday.Meanwhile, Rooney, who helped revitalise one of Major League Soccer’s original superpowers when he joined DC United last year, still feels he possesses the quality to compete in the Premier League.The 33-year-old said he was not a fading force and he could still compete against some of the world’s best players. “If I’m being honest, quality wise I can still play in the Premier League. I know that, I’ve always been a confident person, so I have high expectations of myself,” said Rooney. “I came here expecting to do well, I think there was a surprise from people who had their opinions which is fair enough but I never doubted myself.”Rooney, join DC United last July and helped them to a huge mid-season turnaround, scoring 12 goals and adding seven assists in 20 appearances as United went from last place to a playoff berth. He was named a finalist for the MLS Most Valuable Player Award. It was a remarkable turnaround for a club that won three of the first four MLS Cups after the league launched in 1996 but had fallen on tough times in recent years.