Mauricio Pochettino is set to remain in charge of the USA during the upcoming international break despite an agreement being reached with Manchester United, meaning the Argentine may not report for duty at Old Trafford until the break concludes.
The international break is often seen as an ideal window for struggling clubs to change managers, offering a new appointment nearly a fortnight of preparation time. However, according to The Athletic, Pochettino is set to see out this set of games with the USA.
Pochettino's Focus Remains on USA Duties
The USA will play Haiti twice, with both matches on American soil after the Haitians had their home game moved for security reasons. Ahead of these fixtures, Pochettino did little to shift his players' focus despite the widely publicised links to United.
When he addressed players and staff at the start of training, he discussed the day's session, the three Under-20 players who had joined the group for the day, and other matters, none of which related to the Premier League side.
Defender Chris Richards said: "It's kinda been business as usual here. He acknowledged that he and team-mates had seen 'all the reports and stuff,' but 'we've just kept our head down. We're training and playing like we don't hear anything.'
"We're training like he's going to be the coach tomorrow, because we don't know what's gonna happen or what's not gonna happen. If you focus too much on what could happen, you won't be able to really focus on what is happening."
US Soccer Faces Replacement Challenge
US Soccer does not have an easy way to replace Pochettino ahead of the games on Saturday and Tuesday. The US will play a "home-and-home" series with Haiti in the Concacaf Nations League, starting with Saturday's game in Miami, followed by the second leg in Cincinnati on Tuesday.
If United were to insist that Pochettino and his staff, including long-time assistant Jesus Perez, depart as soon as buyout terms are agreed, it would put US Soccer bosses in a very difficult position.
United's Difficult Situation
This leaves United in a difficult situation, largely of their own making. Michael Carrick is yet to be formally dismissed, yet his imminent sacking is common knowledge. A £7million agreement with US Soccer to have Pochettino is in place, but the club faces the prospect of having no head coach to lead the players when they return after their scheduled time off.
That would be another damning reflection on the United hierarchy, who have known for weeks that Carrick is in troubled waters. They have been determined to stick by him, but results and performances have not improved. If Pochettino does take over, his first game will be at Liverpool off the back of just days in the role.
