‘I CAN’T BLAME MY PLAYERS... THE PROBLEM IS BIGGER’
POCH WARNS CHELSEA OVER SUMMER PLANS
MAURICIO POCHETTINO has told Chelsea’s hierarchy they must make ruthless decisions in the summer.
The Blues’ season hit a new low last night as they were thrashed 5-0 at Emirates Stadium and suffered their heaviest-ever defeat to Arsenal.
The result increases the scrutiny on Pochettino, who will hold talks with Chelsea officials at the end of the season amid uncertainty over his future.
Pochettino admitted Chelsea players “gave up” against Arsenal, calling his team “so soft”, but refused to lay it all at their door, saying: “The circumstances are bigger than the players.”
He warned inconsistency is inevitable with a such a young team and said the club needs to come up with a smarter strategy in order to avoid more painful nights like this one.
Chelsea have spent £1billion in the transfer market since being taken over by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in 2022, but the
Blues have endured a miserable few seasons and are languishing in ninth in the
Premier League.
Pochettino has painted a bleak picture of the situation at Chelsea and said the club needs to be “clinical” when sitting down to make decisions at the end of the season.
Pochettino said: “We took the risk when we arrived here. And now need to accept and we need try to be positive to help. Because if we want to be better we need to realise, be clever in the way we assess the things that we are doing, the plan.
“The strategy for the future should be better, and in our analysis try to be very clinical in our decisions for the future to help not to be in this situation in the future.
“I’m not going to blame the players. The circumstances are bigger than the performances of the players. We cannot blame young guys.
“After suffering some circumstances, you need to come here and fight against a team who is preparing to win the Premier League. That is why [we need to] be careful. We cannot be unfair with our players. Of course we are disappointed with the performance, but I am not going to use words that are unfair.” Pochettino will have one year left on his contract in the summer, and financial constraints could prove problematic to major squad surgery. Chelsea’s latest accounts showed the club is sailing close to the wind with Premier League profit and sustainability rules, though they insist they will stay compliant.
During the second half last night, a young
Chelsea fan held up a banner reading: “I don’t want your shirt! I want you to want to fight for ours.”
Asked about the banner, Chelsea captain Conor Gallagher
(left) said: “We definitely are putting the effort in. I know how much it means to all the boys. It is a very young squad with not much experience in the league. We have had a lot of ups and downs and we are still improving. Today, we were nowhere near it.”
Owners must back boss or trust the process Page 34