2023-12-01 16:42:10
Chelsea are 10th in the Premier League, 12 points from the Champions League qualifying places.
This season, “we are our own worst enemy“, coach Mauricio Pochettino said on Friday, calling his “young team» from Chelsea to «concentrate more» on itself and to become “plus mature».
Tenth in the standings, Chelsea remain on a 4-1 defeat at Newcastle before welcoming Brighton on Sunday (3:00 p.m.), two months after eliminating the “Seagulls» in the League Cup. For Pochettino, this victory is just a distant memory which will be of no help this weekend in the Premier League: “We are our own enemy. Okay, we’ll pay attention to them, but right now we need to focus more on ourselves».
Pochettino “angry and disappointed”
The Chelsea coach showed himself “angry and disappointed» after the setback at Newcastle, his heaviest defeat on the bench of «Blues», while his players remained on a victory against Tottenham (4-1) and a spectacular draw against Manchester City (4-4).
«We let our club down, it was our responsibility as a team“, he commented on Friday, acknowledging having been “harder» than usual with his players. “We are a young team, sometimes you have to be hard on them to learn, sometimes you have to be nice».
«Maybe our approach was wrong and we take responsibility. We took the week to realize the things we needed to improve, to be more coherent, more mature“, said the former Paris Saint-Germain coach.
It is still possible to finish the championship among the first four qualifying places for the next Champions League, said Pochettino, adding that his mind was however turned elsewhere for the moment. “It’s mathematical. I think we have to think it’s realistic“, he said. But, according to him, “It’s not important now to look at the end of the season, but rather to look at the way forward and improve every day. That’s the hardest part, focusing on today and not tomorrow».
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