Former Tottenham Hotspur midfield star Ossie Ardiles has hit out at a report that was claiming he had confirmed former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino was locked in talks with Newcastle United about the possibility of becoming their new manager.
A report which was released by the Mirror on Saturday quoted Ardiles, who spent 10 years in North London, as saying that Pochettino was in discussions with Newcastle about the prospect of becoming their next manager, with the Magpies on the verge of being taken over by a Saudi Arabian investment group.
The report claimed that Ardiles had said it was a "firm possibility" that the former Spurs chief, who was sacked back in November, would be installed as the next manager of the St James' Park club.
On Saturday, Ardiles is claimed to have said: "Mauricio is fine in England. He is linked with Newcastle United and when he spoke directly to that club there were many first-rate people involved who made him a good offer.
"Mauricio had a (contractual) relationship with Tottenham, but last Tuesday his situation was unlocked and he is free to coach.
"In this way, he will hear offers again, but Newcastle is a firm possibility to work again.
"He will take his time to think and wait a little for all this to happen."
However, Ardiles has since taken to social media to insist that those quotes had been taken out of context, insisting that he had never spoken to the Mirror and that he would not have divulged any information about Pochettino's future that he may have known.
On Twitter, he said: "Never talked to the Daily Mirror. They are quoting me in an interview with an Argentina paper where I talked very generally about Mauricio prospects. I don't know what he is going to do and if I know I won't tell of course."
There is, of course, plenty of reports claiming that Pochettino is the favourite to become Newcastle's next manager, but it is unknown at this stage whether or not any concrete talks have taken place between the Argentine and the Magpies' prospective new owners.
