Mauricio Pochettino insists he’s not the only one on trial at Chelsea following a faltering campaign… after the Blues boss admitted he hadn’t ‘crossed paths’ with owner Todd Boehly ‘in MONTHS’

Mauricio Pochettino says he is not the only one on trial because everyone at Chelsea must prove between now and the end of the season why they do not deserve to be dumped.

Sitting ninth in the Premier League, Chelsea travel to Aston Villa on Saturday looking to kickstart a winning run to secure some form of European football. 

Pochettino admitted that he has not spoken to the club’s owners in ‘months’ as he communicates through the sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart instead.

Winstanley and Stewart are among those under pressure as another season in which Chelsea will finish outside of the top four and without a trophy lurches towards a disappointing finale. Their transfer policy in signing young players on long contracts has not yet proved successful with Pochettino’s fledgelings humiliated 5-0 by Arsenal on Tuesday.

Ahead of Villa, Pochettino said: ‘It looks like only I need to improve, no? It is always, “The coach needs to prove that he deserves to be here next season.”

The Blues boss (L) revealed he’s not spoken to Todd Boehly (R) ‘face-to-face’ in months

‘We are all responsible for this situation and we all need to prove that we deserve to be here next season. It looks like it’s only me, not the whole organisation. It shouldn’t be like this.

‘I signed a contract. I support the decision-making. We signed players. It’s creating a new structure here. My responsibility is that the team perform. Because of the results, you can say, “Yes it’s just him (the manager).”

‘But I don’t have the key of the club. I don’t take all the decisions here. That is to be made clear. If you say to me I have the key and this guy is here because it’s my decision, that is one thing. But if this is not my decision, you need to judge me and judge him in his job, no? Because it’s not my direct responsibility.’

Pochettino wants greater input into Chelsea’s transfer strategy as an injection of experience is needed but on whether the sporting directors will listen to his complaints, he said: ‘I cannot suffer for things that are not in my hands. I don’t know. That’s a good question for them if you have the possibility to ask them.’

Pochettino’s side have struggled in 2023-24 – with a 5-0 defeat to Arsenal their latest blow

Pochettino feels that Nicolas Jackson could do a job as a left winger but the problem is he does not have another striker. 

The only solution is to sign another but the Chelsea boss is not sure how much say he will have this summer. ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘We need to talk. I am open. We love to be here. We are so happy. But of course, we are open to helping the club in any way that they want.’