MANCHESTER UNITED’S underperforming players will face a significant fitness reality check if – or perhaps when – Mauricio Pochettino steps in as manager.

The ex-Spurs and Chelsea chief is poised to take charge at Old Trafford if United decides to part ways with Michael Carrick, especially as the team sits perilously close to the relegation zone.

Pochettino is well-known for his rigorous training methods, believing in pushing his players to their limits in both pre-season and throughout the season to keep them in optimal shape.

As Morgan Schneiderlin, who played under Pochettino at Southampton, explained, the Argentine’s approach is to “Cry in the week to enjoy the weekend”.

Ballon D’Or winner Harry Kane, who developed into one of the world’s top strikers under Pochettino’s guidance at Spurs, once remarked: “If you’re tired, he wants you to train harder so you don’t get tired.”

The demanding training methods employed by Pochettino, including the exhausting ‘Gacon test,’ could greatly affect the current United squad, particularly given their evident lack of effort during pre-season under Carrick.

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Youri Tielemans alluded to similar concerns during a discussion with Rio Ferdinand earlier this summer, mentioning that those returning from the World Cup hadn’t been maintaining their fitness.

When Ferdinand inquired if there had been “loads of running” during pre-season, a smiling Tielemans, freshly signed from Aston Villa for £35million, replied: “No. When you come back from the World Cup, you don’t do lots of running. Just chill.”

A shocked Ferdinand could only respond: “What?”

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Tielemans represents just one of several sluggish United players who have underperformed this season as the club fell towards the relegation zone, managing to secure only one win in their first ten league matches.

Consequently, it would be no surprise if Pochettino, assuming he steps in, subjects his newly acquired, unfit squad to the kinds of workouts he has favored throughout his managerial career.

One such drill is the Gacon test, a grueling intermittent shuttle run that is painfully familiar to any Spurs player who trained under Pochettino.

This task consists of running a progressively increasing distance every stage, but each stage must be completed within a 45-second timeframe.

To complete the entire distance, one must run a total of 5,000 meters across 25 stages – a feat few players achieve.

Kyle Walker discussed the brutality of this exercise on the Stick to Football podcast, saying: “Whoever played for Tottenham will know the Gacon. I think it starts at 145 meters, and you have 45 seconds to get there.

“You walk up five meters before running back. Suddenly you’re running 210 meters (at the next cone) in 45 seconds. It’s a continuous challenge. It continues like this.”

“The only person I ever saw complete it was Dele Alli. He was a running machine.”

Pochettino is notorious for his challenging fitness programs at all his previous clubs.

Ben Chilwell, who was under his tutelage at Chelsea, reflected on the ex-Paris Saint-Germain manager’s approach: “It reminded me of my youth team days when we referred to it as getting beasted.”

Any United players interested in questioning Pochettino’s conditioning routines, should he take over, would do well to consider the experience of former England striker Rickie Lambert.

The former Bristol Rovers player once visited Pochettino, alongside Dutch defender Jos Hooiveld, to express their concerns regarding the manager’s habit of implementing ‘horseshoe’ runs on Mondays.

Pochettino requiring his team to complete 12 of these grueling drills saw players sprint around the perimeter of a pitch in a U-shape resembling horseshoes.

Lambert recalled: “When Jos (Hooiveld) and I confronted Poch, he had a big grin on his face. Poch was nodding and saying ‘I understand, Rickie’.

“I foolishly thought he was genuinely listening. I returned to the group, excited to share the ‘good news’.

“We played on Saturday, trained on Monday, and instead of doing 12 horseshoe runs, we did 24. That’s when it became clear: you either adapt or you don’t.

“At that moment, we collectively decided to embrace it. None of us mentioned it again. Poch really challenged us once he got to know us better.

“Initially, I thought, ‘Wow, this guy’s nuts.’ But we all improved, and that was the fittest I had ever been in my career.”

Southampton ended Pochettino’s second and last season in an impressive eighth place, before he moved on to Spurs, whereas Lambert transitioned to Liverpool and England.

Relegation-threatened United would jump at the chance to secure an eighth-place finish at present.

As Lambert’s experience illustrates, the challenging conditioning awaiting United players could elevate their performance to desperately needed new heights.