Mauricio Pochettino: Chelsea need the backing of the fans

By SABC Sport
31st October 2023

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has urged the club's fans to show their support after the disappointing 2-0 defeat to Brentford.

The Stamford Bridge crowd booed Chelsea off at full-time against the Bees after a third home defeat piled pressure on Pochettino.

The Chelsea boss understands the supporters' frustration and suggested other reasons behind their inconsistent performances.

Speaking ahead of Chelsea's Carabao Cup last-16 clash against Blackburn on Wednesday, Pochettino said: "I think they need to be with us and I know it's difficult to keep your feelings and it's normal.

"The fans want to win and are frustrated and they show emotion but the message is to believe and to show trust in us and for sure it's about the process of trusting and believing.

"There are so many details, what has happened (which contributed to Chelsea's form) and you always need some luck.

"One of the situations that happened is the injury of Christopher Nkunku - he is a player we signed with an objective to provide the team and to help put us in a different position.

"In some games we created chances and did not score, we did not get what we deserved. I think we deserve more if we talk about our performance. We need to be more aggressive.

"In the last game we created chances and we were better than Brentford who blocked very low.

"It's not enough and we need to criticise ourselves at the moment."

A Carabao Cup trophy would soften the blow of Chelsea's poor start to the 2023-24 campaign.

Pochettino highlighted the importance of both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup and insisted that he will field a strong team in a bid to advance to the quarter-finals.

He added: "It's really important. The FA Cup and the Carabao Cup are really important for us and tomorrow (against Blackburn) we will play with our best team, some players need a rest after Saturday's game so we cannot take risks."

Reece James has come off the bench in recent weeks as part of his recovery from a hamstring injury he sustained in August.

And Pochettino confirmed the Blues skipper will start at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

He said: "I can confirm he is going to start. The captain is ready, which is good for the team and good for him to start from the beginning of the game and we will check on him and see how he'll perform."