Manchester United players have already been given a warning ahead of Mauricio Pochettino arriving as manager, who has been described as a "magician" by a former player.

Pochettino has agreed to replace the sacked Michael Carrick as manager, and will start work next week once his commitments with the USA team end on Tuesday.

It marks a return to club football for Pochettino after two years with the international setup, and a return to the Premier League after spells with Southampton, Tottenham and Chelsea.

It was at Spurs in particular where Pochettino enhanced his reputation as an elite-level manager, moulding the club into a regular title challenger and even to the Champions League final in 2019.

That is the type of return to form Man Utd will be looking for Pochettino to replicate at Old Trafford.

One of Pochettino's biggest tasks will be to immediately improve results with a squad of underperforming and highly paid stars.

And there is where former Spurs defender Kieran Trippier's past quotes have emerged.

Trippier was signed by Pochettino in 2015 and grew into one of the Premier League's best right-back's under his tutelage.

Speaking to the High Performance Podcast in 2023, Trippier detailed how demanding - and impressive - Pochettino is as a head coach.

He said: “It was a big shock, if I’m being honest with you.

“I went on holiday to Cancun and came back thinking I was in good nick… Next minute, I’m in the fat club. I was in the altitude chamber. I thought, you know, my weight was good, but no, I was straight in the chamber after every session. That’s when I knew this was different.

“It was like he knew everything about you. It was like he had cameras everywhere. He just knew if you tried to walk in late and said you were on time. He had people ticking off every time you came in.

“He was strict, but in a good way. He was a good man-manager. He knew when to pull you in and when not to. He was like a magician at times.”