Mauricio Pochettino admits Chelsea must accept criticism after they were booed by their own fans following a limp Man United defeat
- Chelsea suffered their sixth league defeat against Manchester United
- The Blues have five points less than they did at this stage last season.
- Mauricio Pochettino has his hands full with hapless Chelsea. It all begins
Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea had to accept criticism after being booed by their own fans at Manchester United.
Some on the road attacked Pochettino’s players when they went after him after a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea that could have been much more comprehensive.
Pochettino said: “We can’t say anything to the fans. Fans react the way they feel. We can’t blame them or say nothing. Again, we have to accept this. If we don’t play well, it’s normal that we will be criticized by them and we need to accept it.”
Pochettino, however, called for calm and poise as he assessed 10th-placed Chelsea and their season.
Defeats at Newcastle and Manchester United were followed by a nail-biting victory over 10-man Brighton.
Pochettino: Chelsea had to accept criticism after being booed by their own fans
Scott McTominay’s brace gave Manchester United a 2-1 win over Chelsea, although the score for the Blues could have been much worse.
Chelsea had another sluggish away performance ahead of the trip to Old Trafford, losing 4–1 to an injured Newcastle side.
He said: “After Brighton I think it was a completely different feeling and now after Manchester.
“We cannot go to extremes. We cannot go from zero to 100 and from 100 to zero. This is normal, this is the situation. This period is of course difficult because we are at Chelsea, but I think we need to accept the reality that sometimes we have to struggle and then we do not have the opportunity to use all the elements of the team.
“It’s not just us, any Premier League club could be struggling. I think there’s been too much positivity since the start of the season. He’s going to try to keep moving while remaining calm.
“Not too much when we win and not too bad when you lose. Balance is most important during this period.”
However, he insisted he would be Chelsea’s title challenger again, adding: “No, no, no (it’s not a harder job than I thought).
“It would have been better, of course, to have been in a different position, but we knew that when we accepted this offer it would be difficult. (But) Yes, we are going to challenge, maybe not now, but certainly in the future.
“Who knows (when)? Who knows? I hope it happens as soon as possible, but I am confident that we will challenge the top four.”
