Football: Soccer-Pochettino hoping tough love can help young Chelsea team

(Reuters) – Chelsea’s young players need a helping of tough love at times to help them learn and improve, the Premier League club’s manager Mauricio Pochettino said on Friday.

Chelsea had been enjoying a slight resurgence after beating Tottenham Hotspur and battling to a draw against Manchester City, but their uplift in form came to a shuddering halt last week as they were crushed 4-1 at Newcastle United.

Pochettino slammed his side after the defeat, which left them 10th on 16 points, saying it was their worst game of the season.

Asked about his words, Pochettino told reporters: “It’s important the players feel the coaches in a natural way when we’re angry and when we’re happy we’re happy.

“We were tough in our analysis but tough is to show the thing we didn’t do. But it’s not to blame them. We are a young team, sometimes we need to be tough on them to learn, sometimes we need to be nice.

“It’s not about afterwards we feel really well because we talked in a certain way, it’s about getting what we want. If we are helping, that is the most important thing.”

Chelsea host Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, who are eighth in the standings and on Thursday sealed a spot in the Europa League last 16.

Pochettino heaped praise on counterpart Roberto de Zerbi, saying: “They are doing a fantastic job.

“A very good team, a very good coaching staff. I know Roberto very well and he’s doing a fantastic job.”

The Argentine manager added that he will take a late call on the fitness of forward Christopher Nkunku for Sunday’s game, but added that midfielder Romeo Lavia would not be available for selection.

Nkunku, who signed from RB Leipzig in July, has been sidelined since the pre-season with a knee injury, while Lavia has been out of action due to an ankle issue.

“I don’t believe we can recover any (injured) player but still there’s one day more and we’ll see what’s going on tomorrow and if we can have some players available,” Pochettino said.

“Nkunku, Lavia? We need to assess tomorrow and then decide. They are close but we need tomorrow to make a decision. Maybe Lavia is the more difficult but we need to assess.”

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)