Mauricio Pochettino apologised to the fans, said his team were not good enough and admitted his job is not safe after Chelsea plunged to an embarrassing 4-2 defeat at home against Wolves.
Chelsea dropped to 11th place after their second consecutive defeat and were the target of furious chants from the home crowd. Raheem Sterling was booed when he was substituted, fans near the dugout aimed their ire at Pochettino and a section of supporters sang for Roman Abramovich, the club’s former owner, and José Mourinho, who is available after being fired by Roma.
There were also mocking chants about the team’s display and Pochettino, whose position as head coach is not thought to be under immediate threat, was quick to hold his hands up.
“We are not good enough [today],” the Argentinian said. “Myself, also. I’m responsible for this situation. What we showed today was not good enough. We didn’t manage the situation properly and of course no one can be safe. I don’t want to come here and say I am the best. We’re all responsible.
“The players need to take responsibility like I take responsibility. At the moment we’re not matching the history of the club. That’s true. We need to accept it, be critical but we cannot give up. We’ll work hard to change. If it’s not working in this way, we need to move on and find a different solution.”
Pochettino, who said his players were nervous, called for unity. “The perception is Chelsea should be in a different position. To understand the fans is really important. We want to apologise. We are disappointed like them but we need to fight together. We need to stay together. They are right to criticise and be angry but the players are young, the young team needs support. To be at this club you need to be strong.”
Thiago Silva’s wife posted on X after the game to suggest Chelsea, who visit Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Wednesday, need to act. Belle Silva posted: “It’s time to change. If you wait any longer it will be too late.”
An own goal from Axel Disasi and a hat-trick from Matheus Cunha was enough to earn Wolves their first win at Stamford Bridge since 1979. “To go 1-0 down here, it would have been easy to accept a Chelsea win everyone was expecting but the lads dug in, stuck together and showed quality,” Gary O’Neil, the Wolves manager, said.
