It may not have gone unnoticed inside Old Trafford that while Jose Mourinho was taking pot shots at his players, the board and even reporters at the club’s in-house television station, Mauricio Pochettino last week took unprompted time out to praise Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy after securing Champions League qualification against Barcelona.

It was during the post-match press conference that Pochettino interrupted the flow of questions regarding his team’s performance and his management and said: “Daniel Levy is so happy. He is doing an amazing effort, trying to finish the stadium but sometimes it is not easy to get the praise. But he and the board deserve massive congratulations building one of the best stadiums in the world and we want to congratulate him.”

Having to manage his way through a lack of summer signings, World Cup fatigue, stadium delays and injuries, Pochettino was dealt a more challenging set of cards than Mourinho had at United and yet he not only outperformed him on the pitch but has also conducted himself perfectly off it.

Those inside the cramped Nou Camp media room were left vaguely confused by the sudden outpouring of praise for Levy. But more wily observers within football, and perhaps inside United, believe Pochettino’s charm offensive could in fact have been a clever early play within a potential exit strategy.