Pochettino blasts Neville’s ‘billion pound bottlejobs’ jibe after latest contraction
MAURICIO POCHETTINO hit back at Gary Neville’s ‘billion pound blue bottle jobs’ after his megabucks Chelsea lost to Liverpool’s kids in the Carabao Cup final.
The Blues – who spent more than £1billion on players during the Todd Boehly era – were undone by Virgil van Dijk’s header with two minutes of added time remaining.
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That was despite Liverpool having rookies Jayden Danns (18), Bobby Clark (19) and James McConnell (also 19) on the pitch towards the end of the match.
It led to Marcel’s bottlejobs in commentary, which Poch branded “unfair”.
The Argentinian said: “I didn’t hear what he said, but if you compare the ages of the two groups, I think it’s similar.
“I have a good relationship with Gary and I don’t know if I can take this view that way. But I respect his opinion.
“Obviously we made a few changes to (Conor) Gallagher and (Ben) Chilwell in extra time.
“But it is true that we did not maintain the energy of how we ended the second half.
“I don’t know how to describe this situation. But I am certainly proud. I am proud of the players, I think they have made a great effort.
“We are a young team and (it’s) nothing compared to Liverpool (just) because they ended up with a few young players as well. I think it’s impossible (to compare the two sides).
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“He (Neville) knows, he knows the dynamic is completely different.
“I don’t think it’s fair to talk like this when he says that.
“But I think we will remain strong and believe in this project and see what we can do in the future.”
Chelsea’s team at the end of the match may have cost the world and there were no teenagers in it, but ironically the average age of 22.6 was younger than Liverpool’s 24.1.
The defeat continued Pochettino’s long wait for a trophy in English football, having lost the 2015 League Cup final to Chelsea and the 2019 Champions League final to Liverpool during his five-year reign at Tottenham.
They can still win the FA Cup this season and face old rivals Leeds in the fifth round on Wednesday, but have dropped to 11th in the Premier League.
Former Southampton boss Pochettino said there was still plenty of time for his youngsters to win silverware, but the same cannot be said for himself.
The 51-year-old, who won the Ligue Un in 2022 as Paris Saint-Germain boss, added: “My emotions, they are the same as those of the players.
The players have to feel the pain… We have to work more, we have to do better things.
Mauricio Pochettino
“I’m so disappointed, it’s so painful. I’m an older guy who has less time to win titles, they’re younger than me and they definitely have time.
“But in football it’s always about when you get the chance.
“Now we have to move forward. But the players have to feel the pain. We played for the trophy but we didn’t get it.
“They have to realize that we have to work more, that we have to do better things, that we have to improve.”
Pochettino urged his side to take inspiration from Jurgen Klopp’s side, who themselves lost major finals before eventually becoming series winners.
He added: “To compete at this level against a team that has been competing for big things for the last five, six, seven years, it’s about to get here first and then feel what it means to compete for to play a major trophy.
“I remember that after three or four years Liverpool lost the Champions League final, the Europa League final and they believed in the project.
“They were stronger in subsequent seasons until they got what they wanted. That’s a good example if we want to challenge a team like Liverpool.”