NO MAUR
Chelsea fans turn on Mauricio Pochettino – but Blues boss uses prop in press conference to defend himself
Manager also launched passionate defence of one under-fire player
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MAURICIO POCHETTINO used a bizarre prop to defend himself after Chelsea fans turned on him today.
The Blues were almost given a shock in the FA Cup by Championship Leicester before sealing their place in the semis.
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Goals from Marc Cucurella and Cole Palmer had put Chelsea 2-0 up 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.
With the score somehow 2-2, Chelsea fans released their anger by booing Pochettino.
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They were also heard chanting “you don’t know what you’re doing” when he subbed off the impressive Mhykailo Mudryk instead 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 fuming with Poch.
Their dissent was put to the manager during his post-match press conference.
But the Tottenham icon put up a fierce defence of the performance while using a bizarre prop.
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Pochettino held up a copy of the matchday programme before showing reporters a list of Chelsea’s entire squad.
The Blues were forced to name kids 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 at Stamford Bridge was with so many injuries to regular senior stars.
He said: “We have too many injured players, and we should use the kids.
“I am not here to do what the people want. Also I am not stupid. I saw Mudryk and we analysed he was tired. So we decided first for Mudryk and then for Raheem. We are professional.
“They need to trust in the club, if I am here it’s because of the faith of the club.”
Sterling boos
He also hit out at fans who booed Sterling for several dreadful misses.
Pochettino said: “We need to support him, he’s an amazing player. He has more than 10 years’ experience in the Premier League.
“Of course I think the contribution was good. He was a little unlucky with some actions when he should have scored, but we are a team and we need to be there for everyone.
"Fans are entitled to show their emotion. For us we try to empathise with our fans not to criticise.
“They want the best for our team and players. But we are in a project. We need support and to really believe. We are trying to build something.
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"We are in a process to build the team. I know really well how to manage. What the fans want is to win the game and that we achieved. What the fans want is to go to Wembley and that we achieved.
“They need to trust me to manage in the way I think is the best way for the club. We need to respect their opinion as much as they need to respect my decision."
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