Some sections of the national media have encouraged Mauricio Pochettino to reconsider his future at Chelsea following the Blues' 2-0 defeat to Brentford. The former Tottenham boss has been heavily linked with replacing Frank Lampard in the dugout as Todd Boehly looks to find the permanent successor to Graham Potter.
As reported on Tuesday, football.london understands that Pochettino has held positive talks with the Blues over becoming the new head coach at the end of the season. It is expected that the 51-year-old is closing in on his first role since leaving Paris Saint-Germain last summer.
However, while a deal may be close for the Argentinean, he's been warned that he will be putting his reputation on the line after Chelsea's defeat to Thomas Frank's side highlighted the sheer extent of his task. The Blues are now winless in eight games across all competitions and supporters are increasingly frustrated – luckily Pochettino wasn't in attendance!
READ MORE: Mauricio Pochettino to Chelsea latest as huge update emerges over former Tottenham boss
So, with that being said, football.london has taken a look at how the national media reacted to Chelsea's defeat.
The Guardian
"If Mauricio Pochettino is to become Chelsea’s new manager he must presumably have priced in the real risk of reputational damage," reported Nick Ames. "Their latest offering was yet another monument to the bloated, decadent, short-term thinking that has led them to the bottom half at warp speed under Todd Boehly and may yet bring further lows.
"They have become a club that taint almost everyone they touch and nobody watching an incoherent, uninspired group of individuals labouring against a gutsy and united Brentford would expect that to change overnight. Time will surely be one of Pochettino’s most pressing requirements in the event he signs a contract.
"Frank Lampard, like most who occupy the home dugout here, is not about to benefit from that and will depart five games from now, unless he becomes the latest caretaker manager at a Premier League club to be shown his cards early. He cannot be blamed for the shambles that continues to unfold but Chelsea had thought he might at least coax a tune from a confused, drifting squad.
"Instead he has overseen a run of five defeats from five and his team patently cannot wait for the season to end."
The Mirror
"Goodness knows what Mauricio Pochettino made of this dismal surrender," wrote Mike Walters. "In the battle for ninth place, interim Chelsea boss Frank Lampard is struggling to stay relevant after falling to a 13th defeat in his last 14 games as a manager.
"And if former Tottenham messiah Pochettino, in advanced talks about taking over as head coach at Stamford Bridge this summer, was tuning in, he would have found Newsnight more reassuring than Match of the Day highlights on the other channel. Rarely, if ever, in the last 20 years has a derby under the Fulham Broadway lights felt like such a chore for Chelsea fans.
"At this stage of the season, they are usually rolling up for cup finals or camped on the Premier League's upper slopes. But they have made such a dog's breakfast of the last nine months that, three managers and £600 million later, they are now on course to finish below Brentford and Fulham in the West London & District Midweek Combination."
Daily Mail
"Think of Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge and images of that tempestuous night spring to mind when his Tottenham team went down fighting, surrendering the lead to Chelsea and, with it, the title to Leicester," said Matt Barlow. "Tempers flared and blood boiled.
"Pochettino waded onto the pitch to pull players apart and as the Argentine watched from afar on the team he has agreed to take over he will surely realise his first task will be to get the fire raging again. Chelsea’s flame is weak.
"Where they used to duel and hold influence at the summit of the Premier League they are now engaged in these local squabbles in mid-table."
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