Mauricio Pochettino has admitted Chelsea’s young players are struggling with the pressure of playing for the club
Mauricio Pochettino said that many of his young players have struggled to cope with the pressure at Chelsea on the day he organised a team-bonding barbecue at the training ground – part of the ongoing drive to improve chemistry and assimilation.
“In the same time that you ask me about Cole Palmer, not all the players have the same process to be settled at the club or to perform,” Pochettino said. “We are in a process that the main group, the main young players … of course, they struggle a little bit to deal with the pressure to play for Chelsea.
Pochettino has repeatedly stressed the need for time and patience, which is not limitless as his team languish 11th in the Premier League. But things like the barbecue, which was held on Friday lunchtime after training, are an attempt to create a family atmosphere, to connect the players to the wider staff at the club.
Pochettino said there were 120-130 people at the barbecue and he was not in charge of the food. “The nutritionists are responsible,” he said, with a smile. “We drink water, orange juice. We cannot drink alcohol or eat too much fat. We eat protein, green salad. No fries!”loss to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.