Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed he used to visit Luke Shaw's house to stop the defender eating pizzas during their time together at Southampton. The revelation came during Pochettino's appearance on The Overlap, where he spoke with Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Jill Scott ahead of the World Cup.
Shaw, now 31, impressed under Pochettino at St Mary's, which led to his move to Manchester United in 2014. The full-back could soon be reunited with his former boss, as Pochettino has emerged as the frontrunner for the Red Devils' top job, with Michael Carrick now expected to be sacked.
Pochettino confirms pizza story
During the conversation, Neville asked Pochettino: "Was it true that when you was at Southampton like with Luke Shaw, that you used to go round to his house? Because he was eating pizzas and you used to make the players eat the right foods all the time? Is that true about the Luke Shaw story or is that a myth?"
Pochettino appeared to confirm the rumour, responding: "Yes. It's like another thing that makes us proud because OK, you asked two questions yes." Before he could finish his story, Keane interjected: "I think he's still eating pizzas by the way, you stopped him in Southampton and now he's eating them in Manchester."
Keane jokes and lemon habit
The studio erupted into laughter before Keane quickly clarified: "Only joking." The conversation also touched on another food-related quirk, as Pochettino admitted he keeps lemons in his office to cleanse room energy. "Of course, 100 per cent," he said. "I really believe that that have an effect to attract the bad energy."
Pochettino's emergence as the frontrunner for the United job follows reports on Monday (November 9) that Carrick is set to be relieved of his duties. Carrick had been given three games to convince he was the right man after their 3-0 defeat at the hands of Bournemouth. Their two last-gasp comebacks against Roma and Aston Villa appear not to have been enough to convince the club's hierarchy.
United's next match is against Liverpool when domestic football returns after the international break.
