Mauricio Pochettino fears Chelsea’s downfall could be that their mega-money stars are too comfortable, having delivered a speech to his squad this week about slipping standards ahead of Premier League showdown with Manchester United.
Pochettino warned on Wednesday that they have to ‘behave like Chelsea’ and not an ‘exhibition team’ there to enjoy themselves, claiming they blew two leads in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Burnley at Stamford Bridge because they shirked the hard yards.
Concerned by that costly surrender, Pochettino told his players in an address that he could have fallen into a comfort zone upon taking over as Chelsea manager but that his swollen bank balance has not made him want to do the ‘minimum effort’.
‘I am going to explain what I explained to them,’ Pochettino said. ‘When I was at Espanyol, my first experience as a coach, I was at the training ground at 7am every morning. Then when I moved to Southampton: 6.30am. Then Tottenham: 7am. Then PSG: the same, 6am in the morning. Now, again: 6.45am. You can ask the guy at security.
‘It is not going to change. After 15 years, my passion is here, my motivation is football. After 15 years of working, your salary increases, your bank account. But that cannot put me in a very comfortable zone to say, “Now I arrive at 9am and leave at 2pm.” I need to keep pushing myself, to keep pushing my team and my coaching staff, because we want to win and want to be competitive.’
Mauricio Pochettino criticised a lack of running from his side in their draw against Burnley
Pochettino said his Chelsea side cannot be an exhibition team and must learn to compete
Chelsea are bottom of the Premier League for distance run this season, albeit they have played at least one game fewer than every other side
Fearful of players believing their own hype after arriving on significant fees to substantial fanfare, Pochettino continued: ‘What do I need to do? It is to arrive early. It is too work more. It is to run more. It is to be more focused.
‘It is not now to arrive to Chelsea (slaps hands together) and I am so good because people believe that I am so good but I do the minimum effort. No, it is more responsibility now. For us, we feel the responsibility.’
Pochettino’s concerns around comfortability may explain why Chelsea have lost so many leads, particularly after half-time.
Ahead of Wednesday’s fixtures, a Premier League table for first halves placed Chelsea fifth whereas one for second halves had them 18th.
Pochettino joked his team-talks must be ’s***’ when told that statistic but the Argentine added there are other factors at play, such as the injuries which have plagued their season.
Still for sale on Chelsea’s official website were hospitality tickets for Thursday’s fixture – at a cost of £5,000 per person for a padded seat behind the team’s dugout.
Pochettino does not want to provide the club’s paying punters with a repeat of the performance against Burnley.
Pochettino was unable to confirm whether Christopher Nkunku will feature again this season
Still believing that they could qualify for Europe via the Premier League, he continued: ‘Never be in a comfort zone. If you in a comfort zone, you drop your level, you drop your standards.
‘You cannot draw a game like this (against Burnley) if you are Chelsea.
‘If you want to win games, it is not only to play well with the ball. We cannot be an exhibition team to enjoy.
‘We need to chase the Burnley players like Manchester United players or like Real Madrid players. We need to respect the aspects of the game.’
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
Mail Online
