Mauricio Pochettino says he is ‘not here to do what the people want’ as he addressed Chelsea fans who jeered his substitutions during the 4-2 FA Cup win against Leicester City.
Chelsea has progressed to the semi-finals of the cup, but it was a tense match on Sunday at Stamford Bridge.
Marc Cucurella and Cole Palmer gave the home team a 2-0 lead at half-time, although it should have been three after Raheem Sterling had a contentious penalty saved.
An unusual own goal by Axel Disasi and a magnificent goal by Stephy Mavididi brought the Foxes back on level terms, but they were later reduced to 10 men after Callum Doyle.
However, the Blues failed to capitalize on their extra player, with Sterling delivering a poor performance, for which he was loudly booed by his own fans.
Fans were further upset when Pochettino made his first substitution and did not take out the England winger, with Carney Chukwuemeka replacing Mykhailo Mudryk, who had been performing well.
There were loud boos and chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ directed at the manager, before Sterling was eventually taken off for Noni Madueke.
Ironically, it was Chukwuemeka and Madueke who scored in injury time to send Chelsea to Wembley for the second time this season.
Pochettino has been subjected to jeers from his own fans before, and while he once again stressed the need for supporters to keep the faith, he also fiercely defended his tactics.
'I am not here to do what the people want. Also, I am not stupid,' he angrily stated in his post-match press conference.
'In my opinion, I noticed Mudryk and we assessed that he was worn out, doing some stretching. So we opted for Mudryk first and then for Raheem. We are professionals.
'They [the fans] need to have faith in the club. If I am here, it's because of the club's faith.
'If I am here, it's because the club believes it's good for the club.'
He also told BBC Sport: 'Fans have the right to show their emotions. For us, we try to sympathize with our fans rather than criticize.
'They want the best for our team and players. But we are engaged in a project. We need support and genuine belief. We are striving to build something.
'What the fans desire is to win the game, and we achieved that. What the fans want is to go to Wembley, and we achieved that.
'I am very familiar with how to manage. They need to have confidence in my ability to manage in the way I believe is best for the club.
'We need to respect their opinion just as much as they need to respect my decision.'
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