- Jamie Redknapp insisted Chelsea should keep Mauricio Pochettino next season
- Argentine’s future at the club has been in question despite good form of late
- Erik ten Hag has ‘lost the plot’ in ‘CAR-CRASH’ head coach role at Man United – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off! podcast
Jamie Redknapp insisted Mauricio Pochettino is the right manager to lead Chelsea forward after their 3-2 win against Nottingham Forest.
After a faltering start to his time at Stamford Bridge, Pochettino has overseen an impressive uptick of form in recent months at the club.
The Blues have lost just once in their last 13 Premier League games, with a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Arsenal the only blemish on the club’s recent record.
At the City Ground on Saturday Chelsea overcame adversity to secure all three points, marking their first victory away from home since a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in February.
Speaking following the clash, Redknapp compared Pochettino’s current situation to that of Mikel Arteta‘s when the Spaniard took charge of Arsenal in 2019.
Jamie Redknapp insisted it would be ‘crazy’ for Chelsea to sack Mauricio Pochettino after the club’s win over Nottingham Forest
The Argentine has presided over a remarkable uptick in form at the club in recent weeks after a shaky start at Stamford Bridge
‘I genuinely think there has been dialogue that’s been very positive for Mauricio, and I think next year he will be the manager, by the looks of it.’ Redknapp said on Sky Sports.
‘I think it would be crazy not to do that. I think you’ve got a lot of young players there that need a little bit of guidance, a bit of time, and I certainly think he’s the right man.
‘I just don’t think it’s the answer to just go and get go and change and chop and get another manager. If things don’t start well next season, obviously, you maybe start to look at it, but you can’t give a manager a year, managers need time.
‘Look at what Arteta has had to do. Took two or three years before he established himself as the dominant figure in that dressing room. Now look and he had a few struggles, power struggles, with players, with people like Lacazette, Aubameyang.
‘He won those struggles, and now he runs that club, runs that dressing room, and Mauricio might have to have that as well, and it will take time.’
Despite Chelsea’s strong run of form of late, Pochettino’s future at the club has appeared increasingly tenuous with reports of friction between the former Spurs boss and the club’s hierarchy.
The Blues secured their first Premier League win away from home since February at the City Ground on Saturday
Last month Pochettino claimed he hadn’t ‘crossed paths’ with the club’s owner Todd Boehly in months as he communicates through the sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart instead.
Then, on Friday the 52-year-old cast yet more doubt over his future at the Blues as he appeared to suggest that he might not be entirely happy at the club, although he later walked those comments back.
