Former Tottenham coach: Manchester United are so bad that Pochettino cannot fail

Writing in the British newspaper "The Sun", Redknapp argued that Manchester United have slipped into chaos, yet there has never been a better time for Pochettino to step in.

Managers see jobs like this as a chance they can't turn down, he added, because from where United sit now, the only way is up.

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"Things can only get better for Manchester United with Pochettino," he continued. "He won't take them down, of course, he won't do that."

He drew on his own Tottenham days, having taken charge in October 2008 after a disastrous start to the season. He didn't hesitate for a second.

"When I was offered the Tottenham job, and they were in trouble after the worst start in their history, it was a no-brainer," he said, explaining that this is exactly how managers weigh up such opportunities.

Taking over directly after Ferguson's departure would have been a very different challenge, Redknapp felt. In that scenario the new man would have inherited a huge legacy and had to improve a team already drenched in success.

David Moyes proved the point. Ferguson picked him as his successor, it didn't last long, and everyone knows how it ended.

Redknapp also revealed a friendly bond with the Argentine. The pair share a birthday on the second of March, and they met on it when Pochettino was Southampton manager and Redknapp was at Queens Park Rangers. "We won!" he added.

The two also worked together at the charity match "Soccer Aid", where Redknapp found him a very intelligent and deeply knowledgeable man.

Pochettino and his assistant Jesús Pérez can lift the mood at Old Trafford and the training ground, he said, and put some smiles back on faces. More than that, they have the football brains and the know-how to build teams, two things that will be vital in the months ahead.

Then came the warning. The biggest problem the Argentine might face is whether United's board are willing to give him the players he needs.

He called the current squad "shocking". A great manager can only do so much with poor players, he said, and any boss, however gifted, will be beaten without the right pieces.

Redknapp saved his sharpest words for those running the club. He finds it hard to understand some of the people charged with appointing managers, and he reckons they carry much of the blame for United's mess, thanks to muddled signings and erratic calls on coaching staff.

He also tore into the way the board handled Carrick's exit, branding it shocking. The former manager was a great player for the club and a wonderful man, he said, yet he was treated appallingly, with news of his departure leaked before it was even announced.