“It’s not in my hands”. Pochettino, on the tightrope: a video increases rumors about his possible departure from Chelsea

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino assured that he continues to trust in having the support of the club’s ownersdespite the defeat on Sunday in the final of the English League Cup, but admitted not knowing his future at Stamford Bridge: “It’s not in my hands“, I agree.

Poch said he held constructive talks with Chelsea owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali following the 1-0 extra-time defeat against Liverpool at Wembley last Sunday. A video in which the Rosario coach seems to ignore Todd Boehly, owner of the Blue club, at the award ceremony had fueled rumors about an imminent end.

Mauricio Pochettino ignoring Todd Boehly… ???? #CHELIV #ChelseaFC pic.twitter.com/geZQBhLvRz

— Jack Goodwin (@JackGoodwin2001) February 25, 2024

That defeat increased the pressure on the Argentine coach and on the multimillion-dollar Chelsea squad, which despite the owners’ enormous investment, is disappointing this season, in which the south London club is eleventh in the Premier League, with just 35 points (25 behind the leader Liverpool) and for now it is out of the qualifying positions for next season’s continental tournaments.

Jurgen Klopp greets Mauricio Pochettino after Liverpool’s victory over Chelsea in the English League Cup finalDave Shopland – AP

The only realistic chance he has left to play in a European competition next year is to win the FA Cupa tournament in which they will play this Wednesday the round of 16 tie against Leeds, now in the second division.

“We exchanged opinions after the game, about the lost opportunity to win a trophy because I think we played really well for 90 minutes.“Pochettino explained at a press conference. “We created more chances, but we were not effective. “This is what has been happening to us since the beginning of the season,” she added.

“The owners showed me their support after the game”declared the Argentine, who did not dare to say if he will have enough time to make Chelsea a champion: “It is not in my hands. It’s up to them to trust or not. It’s not a coach’s decision.”.

Mauricio Pochettino speaks to the Chelsea players in training@Chelsea FC

As if Pochettino didn’t already have enough problems, this Tuesday he announced that French striker Christopher Nkunku will be away from the fields for approximately a month due to an injury of which he did not give more details. Called to be one of the offensive references of the ‘Blues’, the former Leipzig player barely played with Chelsea, since he injured his knee in preseason, and shortly after reappearing in December he injured his hip. On Sunday the game came into play after the hour of action and overtime ended: “We don’t know when he got injured,” admitted Pochettino.

A complex scenario

According to the British newspaper Daily Mail, Chelsea authorities will test Pochettino between now and the end of the season, to then define whether or not he will continue leading the team. With only 11 dates left in the Premier League, the player from Rosario will have to achieve a quick reaction from his team to climb the table and attempt the miracle of qualifying for a European Cup (they also did not have international competition in the 23/24 campaign), in addition to improving performance and what the team exhibits in each match.

Given this scenario, It is no coincidence that names of hypothetical successors begin to emerge. One of them is the Portuguese Rubén Amorimsince March 2020 DT de Sporting de Lisboa.

Chelsea is in 11th place in the Premier table, 25 points behind the leader LiverpoolDARREN STAPLES – EPISODE

The first test will be this afternoon, when they face Leeds in the fifth round of the FA Cup. The agenda does not give any respite: three days later, Chelsea will visit Brentford for the 27th round of the Premier League.

Currently, Pochettino’s team is only four units away from the last place that grants a place in European competitions, a space occupied by Brighton (39 units and +8 goal difference), the team of Argentines Facundo Buonanotte and Valentín Ship. But between them are West Ham (39 and -6), Wolverhampton (37 and 0) and Newcastle (37 and +9).

Premier League positions

Mauricio Pochettino’s numbers at Chelsea

• Parties played: 35
• Wins: 16
• Tied: 7
• Lost: 12
• Efficiency: 52.38%

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