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The Mauricio Pochettino-to-Brentford rumour mill was spinning fast over the weekend, sparked by an article from Irish sports website The42 that reported the Bees had interviewed the former Chelsea and Spurs manager. But, in reality, the idea of Pochettino taking over at Brentford is surely more fantasy than reality.

As The42’s David Sneyd wrote:

“Brentford took their time assessing candidates before ultimately deciding on Keith Andrews. The highest profile of those under consideration is believed to be Mauricio Pochettino, while Steve Cooper was also spoken to. The club carried out a wide-ranging process, but there was a clear preference for continuity, which is why Andrews—already part of the setup—was ultimately chosen.”

That key phrase—“clear preference for continuity”—is underlined by Brentford’s Director of Football, Phil Giles, who made no secret of the club’s intentions. “Keith is a very good fit… he’s very open and he’s a learner… players and staff like and respect him,” Giles said in a club statement announcing Andrews’ appointment. He added that the internal promotion “had been the plan for some time.”

Pochettino, as you would imagine, was swift in denying any talks with Brentford. “This club never contacted me… I never talked to them,” he said in an interview with Fox Sports. And it wasn’t the first time he had put speculation to rest. When linked with a return to Tottenham last month, he made his position clear:

“I have no intention of returning to Tottenham right now. My full focus is on preparing the US team for 2026.”

With the United States co-hosting the World Cup in less than 12 months, any notion that Pochettino would abandon that mission mid-cycle for life in TW8 is hard to imagine without the use of strong hallucinogenics… but that won’t stop some from believing that there is no smoke without fire.

Personally, the most worrying part of the article that sparked the rumours was that Brentford had considered Steve Cooper for the gig!

Dave Lane