Cahill tells fans to give Poch time as he sees progress

FORMER Chelsea defender Gary Cahill has urged supporters to show patience with Mauricio Pochettino.

Pochettino came in for intense criticism from fans before the international break when he faced chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” during the FA Cup win over Leicester.

Chelsea are languishing in 11th in the Premier League, but have an FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City on the horizon, and Cahill believes Pochettino deserves time to get it right. The Blues return to action against Burnley on Saturday, and Cahill is confident the project at Stamford Bridge will come good.

“It is clear it is going to take time,” said Cahill, who won eight trophies in seven years at Chelsea.

“The average age of the squad is very young. I was at the League Cup Final and they had chances to win that. But the squad is still growing and adapting to all the changes. That’s not going to happen overnight.”

Cahill (left) believes the progress of certain young players shows Pochettino’s methods are working. He said: “I’ve enjoyed watching Levi [Colwill], who is developing all the time and has bags of potential.

“I like [Conor] Gallagher, one of the best players at the moment. Enzo [Fernandez] and [Moises] Caicedo’s midfield partnership is getting stronger. Cole Palmer is having a fantastic season.”

Cahill retired in 2022 after spells at Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, but he will get his boots back on when he lines up for the England XI at Soccer Aid at Stamford Bridge in June.

“I feel lucky in the way I retired that it didn’t creep up on me due to injury,” he says. • Soccer Aid for Unicef 2024 takes place on June 9 at Stamford Bridge. For tickets, go to socceraid.org.uk/tickets