Mauricio Pochettino admits he is running out of time to win trophies and hits back at Gary Neville’s ‘blue billion pound bottle job’ after Chelsea failed to beat young Liverpool side in Carabao Cup final laugh at.
Pochettino urged his players to feel the pain of the 1-0 defeat at Wembley but was reluctant to criticize his side’s passive performance in extra time. Chelsea, who have spent around £1 billion over the past two years, are in the lead at the end of normal play and look likely to win after bringing in three inexperienced teenagers at Liverpool, which is in a serious injury crisis.
However, Chelsea failed to take the initiative, ending their hopes of lifting a first trophy under Todd Boley and Clearlake Capital. Liverpool regained control and Virgil van Dijk’s late winner prompted Neville to accuse Pochettino’s hugely expensive side of being bottlers when commentating on the match for Sky Sports.
“I didn’t hear what he said, but if you compare the ages of the two groups, I think it’s similar,” Pochettino said. “I have a good relationship with Gary and I don’t know if I can accept that. But I respect his opinion. We made some changes [Conor] Gallagher and [Ben] Chilwell came on in overtime.
“But it’s true that we didn’t maintain the energy we had at the end of the second half. I don’t know how you describe the situation. But I’m proud. I’m proud of the players and I think they gave a huge effort.
“We are a young team and cannot be compared to Liverpool because they also have some young players. He knows the dynamics are completely different. If he says that, I don’t think it is fair to say that.”
The Chelsea boss needs to help his side sit 11th in the Premier League ahead of Wednesday’s FA Cup fifth round home match against Leeds United. “They need to feel the pain,” Pochettino said. “We fought for the trophy but we didn’t get it. What can you tell me to make me feel better? Nothing. They need to feel the pain like we do.”
Pochettino won trophies while coaching PSG but he is yet to lift one in England. “My emotions are the same as those of the players,” the Argentine said. “I’m disappointed, it’s painful. I’m an older guy and have less time to win championships, they are younger than me and definitely have time. But if we want to win, we have to keep going.”
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Pochettino believes Chelsea’s inefficiency in extra time was due to them missing several great chances to win in the 90 minutes.
“Experience and leadership on the court will help,” he said. “But the players were disappointed because we were so close to winning the game within 90 minutes. We started to lose energy.”
