Premier League’s Most Under-Rated Managers

The Premier League managerial rat-race is usually dominated by the big names, with the likes of Van Gaal and the on-going Mourinho/Wenger feud occupying all headlines. What about those managers going slightly under the radar? Creating impressive teams without anyone really realising… these are the top 2 under-rated managers in the EPL.

Mauricio Pochettino

The Spurs boss has certainly proven his capabilities since entering the English game with Southampton. The Saints enjoyed an incredible reign under the Argentine, establishing themselves as Premier League stayers and developing some world-class talent along the way.

Much of this talent has now sought pastures new and so has Pochettino. White Hart Lane is his new home and he’s slowly turning around a club where success has been painfully close for years. On his arrival, Spurs had a staggeringly average squad, full of passiveness and mediocracy. There can be no surprise therefore, that the Argentine didn’t exactly hit the road running.

Jul 28, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Tottenham Hotspur head coach Mauricio Pochettino during training in advance of the 2015 MLS All Star Game at Dick /

However, after a few transfer windows and a chance to understand the club in depth, Pochettino is starting to show his magic once more. His Spurs team are looking as exciting as ever, relying on home-grown fresh talent to produce exciting attractive football. This is certainly what the team is producing at the moment and nothing seems like stopping them. Gone are the days of over-priced, over-rated players. The likes of Alli, Dier and Kane are now taking control and establishing a very strong foundation to which Pochettino can add to.

The Argentine quite clearly knows how to build up a strong club and his philosophy is both long-term and healthy. He has natured the above mentioned players and is already giving new youngsters chances in the first-team. He’s a true footballing man, who likes to let his results do the talking. Spurs are now as under-rated as their manager and look a dangerous prospect for seasons to come.

St Mary’s knew they were losing someone special when Tottenham came in for their man but their replacement wasn’t so bad himself, Koeman close to making this article!

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Mark Hughes

No one can ignore the job Hughes has done at Stoke. The former striker has turned out to be quite the manager with the ability to attract big names to his club. If you were to tell fans at the Britannia Stadium 3 years ago that they would be watching the likes Bojan, Shaqiri and Afellay every week they simply wouldn’t believe you.

Xherdan Shaqiri-Switzerland vs Argentina; 29th February 2012Credits: Fanny Schertzer; WikiMedia Commons /

The singings are simply genius and Mark Hughes has a huge role to play in them. His style of play and knowledge for the game, alongside his world-respected career, creates a formidable manager with the ability to attract world stars.

Yes, these stars are likely to move on but they will leave behind a club in a much better state. Stoke have been transformed from a long ball team to a fast-paced quality footballing team and that is down to Hughes. Their results are looking good once again and no one ever enjoys playing against Stoke. They are certainly capable of an upset, more so now than ever before.

He’s already had time at a big club with Manchester City but maybe this came too soon in his managerial career. I can see Hughes becoming a top-class manager and a big English club should take a risk on the Welsh man next time a vacancy arises.

This article is not exhaustive. There are plenty more managers who are doing a wonderful job without grabbing the headlines. Bilic at West Ham, Koeman at Southampton and Pardew at Palace are more contenders that could challenge our featured two. However, it would be hard to argue against Pochettino and Hughes, both of whom have exciting futures in the game.

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