We wrote that Sunday’s game would be a critical one for the future of Mauricio Pochettino, and so it’s proving.
It wasn’t just the defeat, it was the manner of the defeat. And it wasn’t just the manner of the defeat either, it was all compounded by the manager’s comments since. His job, if it wasn’t on the line before, very much is now.
You could find the best betting site in Kenya and they’ll still give you the same odds, showing Pochettino as the second favourite Premier League manager to be the next to lose their job, hot on the heels of Vincent Kompany.
Now we’ve said all along that Pochettino is unlikely to lose his job before the end of the season, and we stand by that. These owners and the sporting directors they’ve appointed have chosen their man, and they’re unlikely to want to accept defeat and their own failure by dumping him, especially mid season.
That’s particularly true for the owners, who have seen a flurry of managers pass through already in their short time at the club.
So how does Pochettino fix things? It’s certainly not going to be easy. The Carabao Cup game him such a perfect platform, a piece of silverware that instantly made the season a success, regardless of how it was won or what it really means.
Now that shield is gone, and it all comes down to the league. That’s not a great position for the coach to be in. The opposition is fearsome at this time of year, with every team still desperately playing for something, and most teams having found at least a way of making themselves hard to beat.
Not every team is in good form, but a glance down the table shows you that most teams at least have an identity and have proven themselves capable of digging deep for a result.
It remains to be seen how Chelsea will respond to their disappointment. Will they come back stronger than ever and determined to right that wrong, or will this group show themselves to be mentally weak and limp towards the end of the season as they did at this same stage last year?
If they do, it’s hard to see Pochettino being in charge come August. He’s now not only got to win games, he’s got to win over the fans and likely the owners too.