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Poch ready to play blame game after Chelsea’s debacle at Newcastle United
Mauricio Pochettino is beginning to grasp the seriousness of Chelsea’s situation as the holiday season draws near.
The new owners are eager to get the club into the Champions League, but after last weekend’s crushing 4-1 loss to Newcastle, the west Londoners remain in 10th position in the Premier League with no indication that they will improve enough to challenge.
The Argentine manager had shielded his players from criticism before the disаster at St. James’ Park.
However, his remarks after the game marked a change in his stance toward the players and showed that he will no longer tolerate internal criticism.
“The performance really disappointed and irritated me,” he stated.
We have zero involvement with the game whatsoever. There was always a chance to capitalize after we scored, but our squad lacked the motivation to really compete. The onus is on us to take the blame.
He knew that slip-ups like Thiago Silva’s leading to an unnecessary goal hurt, but it wasn’t what really got to him.
By “mistakes,” he meant something more serious. My main issue is that we were not well prepared to compete. We felt prepared to compete, but not to the level that the competition required.
“No matter how bad Newcastle were, they still managed to pull off the easy victory.
We let goals slip through our fingers, we were too soft in every challenge, and we failed to perform like we were playing for a championship.
The fact that these games encourage players to showcase their individuality irritates me greatly.
Such a chance to shine cannot be passed up.
We can’t go from praising Chelsea all over the globe to saying, “Okay, I paused a step before, I didn’t make the effort at the right moment,” after a run like Tottenham (4-0 win) and Man City (1-4 tie).
“That poses an issue. In this regard, we must be more steadfast. Being mentally prepared to compete and demonstrating more strength is the key.
“Either of us can play football, but can we really compete?” “I want to be ready to compete,” I said, “but we didn’t at Newcastle.”
Pochettino conceded that his team might have been overconfident after learning that Newcastle was without 13 players due to ιnjury and had three goalkeepers listed on the bench.
He explained that it’s important to be mature and focus on giving one’s best performance in a competition, regardless of who you’re up against.
Our inability to demonstrate such competitiveness is the root of the problem. We were up against a really strong squad. The question is not whether there are three goalkeepers on the bench. Everything revolves on how subtly we competed; we failed to demonstrate that we were vying for something significant.
On Sunday, Stamford Bridge will play host to Chelsea and Brighton.