Former Chelsea star slams players for "letting down" Mauricio Pochettino

11 January 2024 , 06:00

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Mauricio Pochettino saw his Chelsea side slip to a shock defeat away to Middlesbrough on Tuesday night. (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Mauricio Pochettino is being failed by his Chelsea players.

That is the view of former defender Wayne Bridge, who believes the Blues boss must be given fresh backing by the club’s big-spending hierarchy.

And while Bridge is baffled by Chelsea ’s “crazy” recruitment strategy, with the team still in need of improvement despite more than £1bn of investment, he is convinced Pochettino remains the right man to bring success back to West London.

“He has been let down by the players,” Bridge said. “He’s a really good manager. I’d love to see him get time. You don’t always get it but he should.

“It’s crazy how inconsistent they are with the amount of money they have spent. But it’s individual performances from certain players that has let him down.

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"Chelsea buying players now. Do they attract the best? There are other teams, Man City, Arsenal and Spanish sides, who get those players instead of Chelsea. I’d like Poch to get time. He’s got the track record with young players."

Chelsea suffered their latest setback by losing the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final 1-0 away to Middlesbrough on Tuesday. And Bridge thinks that defeat was a neat summary of their season so far because they do not yet have the mental strength to battle back from going behind.

He added: “If they get the first goal they are fine but if they concede first it’s such an uphill struggle. At Middlesbrough they had chances to go ahead, they didn’t and then they really struggled.

“The teams they have won against recently - no disrespect to them - are not great teams. It will take time and I hope Poch gets the time. But they will have to add more players, definitely.”

Conor Gallagher has been linked with a move away from Chelsea this month (Getty Images)

Bridge is also warning the Chelsea hierarchy not to sell academy graduate Conor Gallagher. The midfielder has been linked with a sale because any deal would represent pure profit for the club as they seek to bolster the squad further and ensure they avoid any issues around financial fair play.

Bridge added: "Conor has been great and when there is talk of him leaving it’s crazy. Letting Mason Mount go was crazy. I’d like Conor to stay and I think fans will be fuming if he left."

Wayne Bridge was speaking to the Mirror on behalf of BetVictor.

Alan Smith