Pochettino left red-faced by Chelsea owner as 'stupid rumours' remark backfired

31 May 2024 , 04:30

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It looked like Todd Boehly had given Mauricio Pochettino his backing (Image: Sportico)

Todd Boehly's glowing praise for Mauricio Pochettino proved to be kind words of farewell rather than a complete Chelsea backing.

The abruptness of the Argentine's departure from Stamford Bridge in late May was a difficult pill for many fans to swallow. Recollections of Boehly gushing over Pochettino's "fluid" and "beautiful" football in the final weeks now feel like an old dream.

Pochettino, once subject to jeering chants of 'You don't know what you're doing' from his own supporters, left amid a storm of disappointment from Chelsea fans convinced he deserved another season at the helm after a strong end to the season. However, it seems both Pochettino and Boehly ended up with proverbial egg on their faces as their public comments hung in the air.

The ex-Paris Saint-Germain boss seemed confident he had the backing of his superiors, while Boehly perhaps thought a positive sea-change was on the horizon in west London.

After clinching a second Premier League victory over Tottenham Hotspur this season and thrashing West Ham 5-0, Boehly made an appearance at the Sportico conference. He said: "We've seen the last two and a half games, at least in the second half at Aston Villa [2-2 draw] and Tottenham and West Ham where we played just beautiful football," reports Football London.

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"It was so fluid, it was exactly the way we drew it up, when we came out of the back, built up and moved up the pitch, [it was] very organised and the number of shots we had on board. In those two and a half games, you could really start to see what we were working on coming together. Even the commentary has changed over the last two and a half games. I've never seen anything change so quickly."

Despite an air of stability, Pochettino found himself fielding questions about rumours of him being the next Chelsea boss to face the chop.

Mauricio Pochettino became the third manager to be sacked by Chelsea since 2022 (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

"We were talking about the judgement at the end of the season, if I feel I am under scrutiny," he said in another press conference. "That was the question from the people. But it is like [we have] to prove, after all these circumstances and all of this situation, that we deserve to be here next season. I say, 'Who is going to judge me? '".

"I need to judge myself and all the players, and of course with all the circumstances [of the season]. But I wanted to say that it is enough with these type of rumours. If I have one more year on my contract here, and no one says nothing, [I] suppose that I am going to be here. [That changes] only if we then finish the season and someone says to me, 'ciao'."

"Because we don't know at the moment. I suppose I have one more year on my contract and that I am going to be here. But enough about the stupid rumours. You need to ask the club if they want me to keep going or not -- not to write things that have no sense."

Pochettino left Chelsea on May 21 (Getty Images)

Just before his final match, Pochettino said he'd had dinner with Boehly. While he did not go into the details of their chat, he did say it was a "very nice" meal. Barely a week later, Pochettino and the club "mutually agreed to part ways", sparking off another hunt for a manager.

Enzo Maresca, the boss who steered Leicester City back into the Premier League at the first attempt, seems poised to become the third permanent manager since 2022. The Italian's appointment by the Blues' board is an intriguing, albeit daring move, but is a sign of the Blues' new approach to managers, especially considering they also had Ipswich Town's Kieran McKenna on their radar.

Being a follower of Pep Guardiola, Maresca will be braced for the intense pressure and scrutiny that comes with the territory at Stamford Bridge. But one thing he'll undoubtedly have to grapple with is the board's confidence. Pochettino may have made a few blunders during his time at Stamford Bridge, but his biggest mistake might have been thinking he had earned the trust from his employers.

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Patrick Austen-Hardy