Chelsea legend Frank Leboeuf has defended Mauricio Pochettino by insisting that even Pep Guardiola couldn't have led the club to success this season.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Leboeuf claims Chelsea were in shamblesEven Pep would have failed to guide them to successChelsea take on Liverpool in Carabao Cup finalGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?
Leboeuf, who spent five years at Stamford Bridge between 1996 and 2001, has expressed his beleif that the club was in a "shambles" when Mauricio Pochettino took charge of the team ahead of the 2023-24 season. The Frenchman went on to claim that not even a manager of Pep Guardiola's calibre could have led the Blues to success this season.
AdvertisementWHAT FRANK LEBOEUF SAID
Speaking to , the former defender said: "When Mauricio Pochettino signed for Chelsea, there was not a ‘right man’ for the job – the club was a shambles. You could have put anybody in there, even Pep Guardiola, and I don’t think they would have done anything special with this Chelsea team because an instant solution was impossible to find.
"Now we are starting to see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel after the games against Aston Villa and Manchester City, but it is all about consistency. We can see how Pochettino is working with the players and the confidence that he is building with them, but there is still a long way to go. I think Pochettino is the last person to blame for the situation at Chelsea. I’m not even sure that I would’ve taken the Chelsea job at the time he did, because although the money might be good it is hard to know where to even start with actually managing the team! He had the guts to take it on and he is doing well."
He added: "Sometimes the criticism of Pochettino is fair but he has not been without problems and injuries and he has done his best. Everybody was saying that Chelsea didn’t know how to defend without Thiago Silva, but then we saw against Manchester City that they are more than capable. Axel Disasi showed last weekend, against a cyborg in Erling Haaland, that he can handle it.
"When Pochettino puts his confidence in his players, they have shown that they can produce good performances like they have recently against Aston Villa and Manchester City. Hopefully, we are going to see the result of Pochettino’s hard work very soon."
Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Former Tottenham manager Pochettino did not have the best of starts to his journey with Chelsea as the club managed to register just eight Premier League wins out of 20 games in the first half of the season. They were plagued with multiple injuries, which certainly didn't help Pochettino, but he has still faced criticism for failing to bring the best out of a squad full of big-money signings. Chelsea have been performing more consistently since the start of the new year, though, and are on the verge of winning their first trophy this season as they gear up to take on Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?
After facing the Reds on Sunday at Wembley, Pochettino's side will next take on Leeds United in an FA Cup fifth-round clash on February 28.