Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has upset Chelsea fans once again. The latest round of 'Poch' hate transpired because of comments the Argentine made about a club he used to manage, Tottenham Hotspur. Obviously north London-based Spurs are one of the west Londoners' main rivals, so any scenario involving the two teams is sensitive. In addition to looking at that situation, The Pride of London outline the Blues gaffer's revelation about fearing the sack from Stamford Bridge bosses. Let's get straight to it.
Over the previous few weeks or so, Poch appeared to gain the trust and respect of an increasing number of Chelsea supporters. Why? The football improved, while some youthful starlets and out of form but rated players became productive. Yet, most importantly, results at the Bridge and away from home started to go the Blues' way. Finally.
To gauge it more accurately, certain writers like myself assumed that the difficult spell at CFC - which has lasted over two years - would be endured for at least another season. European qualification looked very distant or even out of the question earlier. Basically the situation Pochettino inherited, and doesn't have full control over, could have actually gotten worse. But it definitely seems as though things at Chels' wouldn't get better fast.
However, the Fulham Road team are on the verge of securing Europa Conference League football for 2024/25 with only Bournemouth standing in their way. Therefore Poch might arguably end up overachieving this campaign. Gelling a youthful, inexperienced and, not to forget, injury-plagued squad would probably have taken other proficient managers longer. Good times might be on the horizon again.
How Mauricio Pochettino alienated himself from some of the more vocal members of the Blues faithful following Tottenham Hotspur quote
Poch turned it around and apparently won over large elements of the CFC fan base by letting his team do the talking on the pitch and almost heading back to Europe next term. Nevertheless, there is now some fresh anger.
So, how did the 52-year-old manage to disaffect certain parts of the support most recently? Well, Chelsea can finish fifth if they defeat the Cherries and Spurs lose; that sequence of events would give the Blues a Europa League spot. Though, when a reporter asked Poch if he'd like to see Ange Postecoglou's side lose, in turn advancing his own side, he said this, which annoyed some observers:
"'No, not really. We need to do our job and, after, see what is going on. I never wish bad things to the opponent. Always it’s about us deserving to win and hoping we can take advantage of the situation that gives us the possibility to be in a better place.'
Pochettino's comments incensed a portion of the club's fanbase, with some even calling for him to be sacked in the summer.
One wrote: 'Sack him please. This is an offence.'
Another added: 'Not chels and he never will be.'
A further fan insisted: 'I’ll never support him again , you lot that have let him change your mind should be embarrassed.'
Other Blues supporters disagreed, insisting that Pochettino's comments were benign given his prior association with the north London club.
One wrote: 'Boys he is a former spurs manager who likely has fond memories of his time there, as much as i want him to he's not gonna publicly bash them.'
A second fan agreed: 'He is clearly not a Chelsea fan, but who cares, as long as he wins matches for us, we are okay.'"
The Chelsea boss has now also admitted to worrying whether or not he would be sacked back in February:
"Asked if he thought at any stage this season that he would be sacked, Pochettino said: ‘I can be honest? After Wolves. Remember what happened after, also?’
Chelsea’s manager then paused and backtracked somewhat as he continued: ‘I didn’t think, “We are going to be sacked”, but it was a tough moment. At this moment, as a coach and a staff, you feel loneliness. ‘When you feel like everyone is seeing you as if you’re guilty of something and you don’t know what’s going on. We were alone there after the game, waiting, for two hours.
‘When you feel like everyone is seeing you as if you’re guilty of something and you don’t know what’s going on. We were alone there after the game, waiting, for two hours. It was a long time after the game we were there, watching each other, the five coaching staff, in a very small room. We were more sad. It was an unfair situation that we didn’t deserve, but the result put us in a very difficult situation. The problem was the circumstances.’"