Poch brushes aside Nev jibe
THE words may have stung at the time but Mauricio Pochettino insists his Chelsea team will not need Gary Neville’s infamous “billion-pound bottle jobs” jibe to motivate them today at Wembley.
Former Manchester United and England star and Sky TV pundit Neville (inset) issued the rebuke after Pochettino’s side crumbled in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool at Wembley in February, losing to Jurgen Klopp’s youthful team in extra time.
Chelsea have the chance to purge that memory from their minds this afternoon in the FA Cup semi-final against Double-chasing Manchester City, as they aim for their second final this season – and their only chance of silverware.
In fact, the Blues are unbeaten in eight games since that Wembley defeat and go into this match on the back of the 6-0 thrashing of Everton, with former Etihad starlet Cole Palmer netting four times to put him level with Erling Haaland on 20 league goals for the season.
With European qualification still in sight, Pochettino said: “I am not a person who has bad feelings. When things happen, they happen. I hope we can win and go through to the final. That is our objective.”
He insisted Neville’s barbed comments were not on his mind ahead of this game.
He added: “I am not going there thinking that. I have too many good memories from Wembley.
“I hope that one day I can lift a trophy there. That is my dream. That is what we want. We are focused on trying to win the game and get to the final.
“The team is motivated to play. It is not the effect of some comment. We are professional footballers. It’s about process, about ideas, about really believing in the way you work.”
And Pochettino (below) is trying to take the pressure off Palmer, 21, who left City for Stamford Bridge in the summer in a £40m deal simply to get more football – and has been a revelation in West London.
But the Argentine coach warns he is not the finished article.
Pochettino said: “Maybe now Cole needs to pay attention to different things that he did not need to before.
“Demands in his private life, they are higher now. That will have an influence on how he prepares himself, rests and sleeps, saves his energy.
“We have the experience as coaching staff to manage kids who become big stars.
“He needs to learn now.
“For Real Madrid or Manchester City, with the ball you need to run and without the ball you need to run.
“If they don’t run, they don’t play.”