Furious Pochettino slams Chelsea squad after Newcastle humiliation
Tom Weber
- 25 Nov 2023 18:33 GMT
- 3 min read
Mauricio Pochettino didn't hold back after his Chelsea side were humiliated by Newcastle United.
The Blues suffered an ignoble defeat at St. James' Park, being put to the sword by Eddie Howe's injury-decimated Magpies 4-1. Three of Newcastle's goals came before Chelsea's captain Reece James was sent off and the four strikes on the day meant that Chelsea have conceded eight goals in their past two games.
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino had to watch the game from the stands and the Argentine was left furious by what he saw. It was a completely immature and unprofessional performance from his side, particularly in the second half. Even 39-year-old Thiago Silva looked flustered throughout, being to blame for Newcastle's third.
Despite previously protecting his young Chelsea squad after bad results, Pochettino tore into his side after the fixture against the Magpies.
What did Pochettino say?
"It was our worst game of the season," Pochettino told Premier League Productions. "It was tough to be in the stands. We cannot complain about the result, we did not read the game from the beginning. We did not play how we should play, we showed a lack of intensity and energy."
"We were talking after in the dressing room, after the game, because in a normal way, I think we should go directly to the hotel and sleep and start to train tomorrow early in the morning and no day off...We have a very talented squad but competing is a different thing than to play."
He continued at his post-match press conference: "I am talking more about energy...we were not prepared in the best way to compete today, that was my concern, we thought we were ready...We were soft in every single challenge, we did not show we were playing for something."
"Even if we talk about 'we are a young team, we need to learn,' this type of game [makes me] very angry because it's about [showing] more personality and character."
