John Obi Mikel says Mauricio Pochettino should be shouting from the touchline telling his Chelsea players to “do your f***ing job”.
The Blues slumped to a seventh defeat of the season on Sunday, losing 2-0 to Everton at Goodison Park to leave them 12th in the Premier League table.
Pochettino said after the game that January additions will be required to help Chelsea to close the gap between their “reality” and the “expectations” at the club.
But Mikel is sick of all the talk of a rebuild, and claims a big part of the problem is the lack of leadership at the club, from the players on the pitch and the manager on the touchline.
“Are we just going to sit on the fence and say we are still in a rebuilding process?” Mikel said on his Obi One Podcast.
“There is no time for that. We need to start winning games. When I look at at the team, it comes down to a lack of leaders.
“In the game against Everton, I looked around the pitch, there is not one single leader.
“There is no-one to come out on the pitch to go at your colleagues and say, ‘Wake up, what are you doing?’ – this is what we had before.
“The likes of Didier Drogba, John Terry and Frank Lampard, when you are having a s*** game, these guys would make you wake up.
“I look at the manager, I didn’t see him scream at one of the players to say, ‘Do your f****** job, wake up, make sure you run around and make sure we win the game’.”
Sunday’s result was not the only concern for Chelsea after captain Reece James suffered yet another injury setback and limped off in the first half.
“You need your captain on the pitch,” Mikel added. “He’s just come back from a long lay off, now he’s injured again.
“You need your captain fit. We don’t have that. We’re talking about leaders… John Terry did it for decades.
“He was always on the pitch, even when he was injured. Broken toes, ankle injuries, injections, treatment. He always wanted to be on the pitch.
“It was his job as a leader to make sure we win games and be successful. I don’t know what’s wrong with Reece.
“I’m a big fan of him but he needs to be fit. We need to figure out his injuries and make sure he stays fit. When he is fit, he is one of the best right-backs on the planet.”
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