USA manager Mauricio Pochettino has broken his silence on a bombshell report linking him to the previously vacant Brentford job.
The Premier League club ultimately promoted former set-piece coach Keith Andrews to replace Thomas Frank, after the Dane left for Tottenham.
But a report from Irish outlet The42.ie claimed that Pochettino had interviewed for the job along with Steve Cooper.
On Saturday, Pochettino was asked about the report by Fox Sports, and told the outlet he was ‘never contacted’ by the Bees.
He added that he ‘never talked’ to the club, who announced the hiring of 54-year-old Andrews on Friday.
Following Spurs’ sacking of Ange Postecoglou, Pochettino was also linked with a return to his old club.
Mauricio Pochettino has denied speaking to Brentford about their previously vacant job
Bournemouth appointed former set-piece coach Keith Andrews to be their manager
However, he told reporters that such a scenario was ‘not realistic’, with the USA a year out from co-hosting the World Cup with Canada and Mexico.
The Fox Sports report also noted that – with Pochettino under contract with US Soccer – other teams wishing to speak with him would have to be granted permission by the federation.
Pochettino has had some difficult moments leading America since he was hired in September, as his side was knocked out of the CONCACAF Nations League by Panama and lost to Canada in the third place match.
He also oversaw a pair of concerning friendly results ahead of the Gold Cup, as the USA lost to Turkey and were trounced 4-0 by Switzlerland.
Off the field, he has clashed with the team’s talisman Christian Pulisic, who declined to participate in the Gold Cup but said on CBS Sports’ ‘Call it What You Want’ podcast that he requested to be included in the Turkey and Switzerland friendlies.
That pick-and-choose proposal was turned down by Pochettino, who later said he understood Pulisic’s request but that he was the head coach and ‘not a mannequin.’
Pochettino has quieted critics with three wins in the Gold Cup group stage against Haiti, Saudi Arabia and Trinidad and Tobago.
His team will face Costa Rica on Saturday in the quarterfinals.
