Football
Mauricio Pochettino responds to hostile Chelsea chants in Brentford draw
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has vowed to continue working on his relationship with supporters after Blues fans turned on their head coach once again.
Pochettino's side gave up a lead to fall 2-1 down to Brentford on Saturday and were only rescued by a late Axel Disasi header, by which point Chelsea fans had made their opinions on the current state of the club perfectly clear.
Chants of 'F**k off, Mauricio' and '[Todd] Boehly, you're a c**t' were heard as Chelsea fans turned on both their manager and co-owner, while Jose Mourinho and Roman Abramovich were once again serenaded by disgruntled fans.
On what was his 52nd birthday, Pochettino insisted he is not concerned by the sentiment towards him.
"I am not worried," Pochettino stressed. "We need to accept this relationship.
"Someone asked me, 'Do you feel the love from the fans?'. No. You need to build the relationship and you build the relationship through winning Games. I won't ask for nothing, I will continue to work and change this perception."
He continued: "I think the relationship is good. We need to understand the fans are emotional. I am fighting to provide the team the best tools to work and to improve and play in this way, score goals and win Games."
Pochettino further aggravated fans in his post-match press conference by claiming his midfield is suffering from fatigue because Chelsea "do not have the possibility to refresh players in a key area."
Enzo Fernandez was replaced by Mykhailo Mudryk late in the Game but Pochettino did not introduce another midfielder, despite having both Cesare Casadei and Jimi Tauriainen on the bench.
Casadei was recalled from a productive loan spell with Leicester City in January but has since played just 13 minutes, with Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Conor Gallagher playing relentlessly across Chelsea's hectic schedule - including against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final, in which Jurgen Klopp showed his commitment to youth with his substitutions.
This was not the first time that Pochettino disregarded the youngsters at the club. The boss recently touted Deivid Washington as an option at striker following the departure of Armando Broja, but the 18-year-old has not even made a matchday squad since January.
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