MAURICIO POCHETTINO has told his new Paris Saint-Germain stars: “The time for laughing is over.”
The former Tottenham boss, 48, is embarking on his first job in football since his North London sacking in November 2019.
Pochettino is claimed to have told his PSG stars there will be no room for ‘nonsense’Credit: Reuters
Pochettino was named PSG boss on Sunday having last managed Spurs, where he was sacked in November 2019Credit: Getty Images – Getty
But Poch appears to have ditched the nice-guy act after ordering his PSG stars to start taking their jobs more seriously.
French outlet RMC Sport, as reported by Marca, have claimed Pochettino told his players there has ‘been enough nonsense’ and the ‘time for laughing is over’.
PSG have won seven of the last eight Ligue 1 crowns, only missing out to Monaco in 2016-17.
But Thomas Tuchel was given the boot just before Christmas with the French giants down in third.
PSG sit just one point off Lyon in top spot with the German boss sacked immediately after a resounding 4-0 win against Strasbourg.
Pochettino was quickly tipped to take over at the Parc des Prices, with the Argentine having captained the club during his playing days.
The Ligue 1 giants moved quickly to open talks with Poch and officially announced him as their new manager on Sunday.
Pochettino’s first game in charge will be away to Saint-Etienne on Wednesday night.
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Mauricio Pochettino has laid down the law to his players already, say reportsCredit: EPA
And he has already urged his stars – including Kylian Mbappe and Neymar – to knuckle down, with many of the players enjoying an easy ride in recent seasons.
The former Tottenham and Southampton boss’ first job will be to get PSG back to the top of Ligue 1.
However, the club’s big-spending owners will primarily judge Pochettino on his Champions League performances.
PSG have never won the European Cup or Champions League, most-recently falling at the final hurdle as they lost to Bayern Munich last season.
This year, the French giants will take on fading force Barcelona in the last-16, with the first leg at the Nou Camp on February 16.
PSG infamously lost 6-1 to Barcelona at the same stage in the 2016-17 season having won the first-leg 4-0 at home in one of the biggest collapses in football history.
Another of Poch’s top priorities will be to tie down Neymar and Mbappe to new contracts over fears they could leave the club.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
