Chelsea great John Obi Mikel has warned Mauricio Pochettino about his future at Stamford Bridge. During his first season at the club, the Blues manager has received a lot of pressure because Chelsea is still in the middle of the standings, despite Pochettino’s success in cup competitions.
Chelsea defeated Leeds United last week to advance to the FA Cup quarterfinals, only days after losing to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final. After avoiding clubs like Manchester City and Liverpool in the draw, the Blues will face Leicester City in the next round.
With 17 points separating them from the top four and nine from the top six, winning the tournament may be Chelsea’s last chance of securing European football for the coming season. Before talking about Pochettino’s time in west London, Mikel expressed his thoughts on Chelsea’s chances of winning the European Championship.
He told Standard Sport: “Of course, top four is out of reach.” “I would consider it a huge improvement if we made it to the Europa League, but first we need to get better and have a winning streak.” The Europa League would be a fantastic accomplishment, and we can build from there. The ending was a major letdown.
Given that Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali are set to make decisions about their futures this summer, it is possible that Pochettino will not be the sole driving force behind Chelsea’s European ambitions if they qualify. In light of this, Mikel expressed his thoughts on Pochettino’s situation with the team, including an unpleasant disclosure.
“Some of the criticism has been excessive, but when we were playing for Chelsea and we weren’t winning, we experienced the same things—being criticised and seeing managers lose their jobs,” he said. It’s Chelsea here. You must prevail. Trophies and games need to be won. Sure, we’ve given them more time, but that time has allowed them to refine their abilities, bond, and play much better.