Chelsea fans turn on Mauricio Pochettino, but the boss uses props to defend himself
MAURICIO POCHETTINO used a bizarre prop to defend himself after Chelsea fans turned on him today.
The Blues almost suffered a shock at the hands of Championship Leicester in the FA Cup before sealing their place in the semi-finals.
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Goals from Marc Cucurella and Cole Palmer had given Chelsea a 2-0 lead at half-time.
It should have been three after Raheem Sterling missed a penalty.
But Leicester fired back in the second half thanks to an own goal from Axel Disasi and a wonder strike from Stephy Mavididi.
When the score was somehow 2-2, Chelsea fans unleashed their anger by booing Pochettino.
They were also heard singing “you don’t know what you’re doing” when he brought on the impressive Mhykailo Mudryk in place of the woeful Sterling.
And although Chelsea came back to win with two late goals from Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke, supporters were still left furious with Poch.
Their differing views were put to the manager during his post-match press conference.
But the Tottenham icon fiercely defended his performance as he used a bizarre prop.
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Pochettino held up a copy of the matchday program before showing reporters a list of Chelsea’s entire squad.
The Blues had to put children Deivid Washington, Joshua Kofi Acheampong and Ollie Harrison on the bench against Leicester.
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And Poch wanted to illustrate how difficult life was at Stamford Bridge with so many injuries to regular senior stars.
He said: “We have too many injured players and we have to use the kids.
‘I’m not here to do what the people want. I’m not stupid either. I saw Mudryk and we analyzed that he was tired. So we decided on Mudryk first and then Raheem. We are professional.
“They have to have confidence in the club. If I am here it is because of the confidence of the club.”
He also lashed out at fans who booed Sterling for several terrible misses.
Pochettino said: “We have to support him, he is a great player. He has more than ten years of experience in the Premier League.
“Of course I think the contribution was good. He was a bit unlucky with some actions when he should have scored, but we are a team and we have to be there for everyone.
“Fans have the right to show their emotions. For us, we try to empathize with our fans and not criticize.
“They want the best for our team and our players. But we are in a project. We need support and we need to really believe. We’re trying to build something.
“We are in a process of building the team. I know very well how to manage it. What the fans want is to win the game and we have achieved that. What the fans want is to go to Wembley and we have achieved that .”
“They have to trust me to manage it in the way I think is best for the club. We have to respect their opinion as much as they have to respect my decision.”
