Pochettino wins while Mourinho whines: Richard Buxton

There might be more than just a few Manchester United fans who are wishing that Mauricio Pochettino is sitting in their dugout instead.

No matter the outcome, the Tottenham Hotspur manager continually fixates on the art of winning, while Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho resorts to whining and self-preservation when he is incapable of doing so.

The pair are encountering very similar problems in incredibly different fashions.

One has defied preconceptions about his coaching persona; the other has lived up to the stereotypes.

Rambling demagoguery remains the Special One's preferred method when the heat is on.

His opposite number on Tuesday morning (Singapore time) opts for a placid, alternative route.

Three matches into the season, Spurs are second in the league, one of only four sides with a 100 per cent record.

The others being Liverpool, Chelsea and Watford.

Spurs are yet to show signs of falling victim to a summer of inactivity in the transfer market, while Pochettino has refused to point the finger of blame.

The Argentinian did not stay silent about the lack of spending; he fronted up to, and even owned, a less than perfect situation.

Mourinho, meanwhile, embarked on the latest stage of his archetypal third-season meltdown and blamed everyone from his players to the Old Trafford hierarchy for his latest woes.

In another world, Pochettino would be the ideal candidate to become his direct replacement.

His brand of management is everything that United supporters continue to hold dear.

Beyond a style of play which harnesses attractive football, his personality is more attuned to when Sir Alex Ferguson ruled the Theatre of Dreams with an iron yet winning fist.

A trademark silent treatment, administered to the Lilywhites' players whenever they have disappointed him, is a far cry from Mourinho's penchant for airing his dirty linen in public.

Nurturing precocious talents, unlike the Portuguese's overt admonishing of Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial among others, lends itself heavily to Ferguson and the "Class of '92" ethos.

Pochettino's willingness to thaw players from imposed exiles, rather than confining them to further isolation, saw Danny Rose and Toby Alderweireld both reintegrated into Spurs' defence for their eventual 3-0 win in the red half of Manchester earlier this week.

Logic also dictated that Hugo Lloris' drink-driving charge should have forced his hand ahead of his side's first victory at Old Trafford since 2014.

Instead, he maintained a business-as-usual approach in handling the goalkeeper, who is still a World Cup winner in his own right.

HARMONIOUS DYNAMIC

A harmonious dynamic between the Spurs manager and chairman Daniel Levy has allowed the former to fashion a balanced squad in north London; one with quality across all departments, albeit somewhat lacking in depth due to a current absence of reinforcements.

Conversely, executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward's star-gazing policy has seen United sleepwalk into Mourinho's church of the poisoned mind.

A parting of the ways now appears inevitable.

"Lads, it's Tottenham" became one of Ferguson's most famous pre-match team talks, but it should have also been the message for his former paymasters about Louis van Gaal's successor.

When United's grand master wined and dined Pochettino at a restaurant in London's Mayfair district in March 2016, Spurs moved quickly to sign their fledgling coach to a new five-year contract just two days later, as he spoke of emulating Ferguson by forging his own dynasty in the English capital.

The Red Devils should have made a power play for him while they had a realistic chance.

Neither he, nor they would benefit from revisiting that hypothetical at this late stage.

Mourinho is not the only one who is now too far gone.

United themselves are at a point of no return.