POCH: I FEARED THE AXE
Chelsea boss got Blues after dismal Wolves defeat v
BY SCOTT TROTTER
MAURICIO POCHETTINO revealed he feared the worst when Chelsea lost to Wolves earlier this season.
The Blues are flying high with the possibility of Europa League qualification after a turnaround in fortunes. But a 4-2 defeat at Stamford Bridge in February left Pochettino staring into the abyss with Chelsea in 11th place, closer to the bottom three than the top five.
Jose Mourinho’s name was sang in west London while boos harmonised with the full-time whistle.
“It’s time to change. If you wait any longer it will be too late” came the ill-fated social media post from Thiago Silva’s wife Belle. Pochettino said after the match: “We are not good enough”.
The 52-year-old head coach and his staff were left to languish in each other’s company in the aftermath, to contemplate if their death knell was imminent.
“I can be honest? I think after Wolves. Remember what happened after, also?” said Pochettino when asked if he ever worried that he would lose his job. “No, I didn’t think we were going to be sacked, but it was a tough moment.
“That defeat at home was really, really tough.
“At that moment, as a coach and a staff, you feel loneliness. When you feel like everyone is seeing you as if you’re guilty of something and you don’t know what’s going on.
“We were alone there after the game. Waiting. We spent two hours. It was a long time we were there, watching each other, the five coaching staff, in a very small room. “We were sad. It was an unfair situation we were in. It was a situation we didn’t deserve, but the result put us in a very difficult situation.”
Then it was almost impossible to predict the optimism Chelsea’s season would end in. Since that loss, the Blues have earned 27 points from 14 matches and scored 37 goals, while remaining unbeaten at home.
Pochettino is not content with the outcome of the season however, even if his team maximise their position tomorrow at home to Bournemouth. “We were talking
this morning as a staff – it’s not enough for us,” he said.
“We’re not going to celebrate and take a picture finishing fifth or sixth and qualifying for Europe.
“It’s not enough for the owners, the sporting directors or the players.
“But in the circumstances, I feel satisfaction and to finish positively and with general opinion optimistic and very positive… then you feel that, you need to congratulate people on a good job.
“But it’s not enough for a club like Chelsea, for sure.”