Mauricio Pochettino fears that his struggling Chelsea players have become too comfortable and says they need to show a better mentality against Manchester United.
Chelsea had wanted to finish a difficult season on a high note after the international break, but they were held to a 2-2 draw by ten-man Burnley at the weekend to drop to 12th in the Premier League.
Pochettino’s team has only won 11 of their 28 league games this season and are ten points closer to the relegation zone than to the current leaders Arsenal.
Chelsea will try to build some momentum when they face another struggling club – Manchester United – at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.
Speaking before the match in west London, Pochettino was asked whether he worries that his players may have become too comfortable and said: ‘Yes. I agree. It was one of the topics we were discussing.
‘I am going to explain what I explained to them. When I was at Espanyol, my first experience as a coach, I was at the training ground at 7 in the morning.
‘Then when I moved to Southampton: 6.30am. Then to Tottenham: 7am, sometimes 7.30am. Then PSG: the same, 6 in the morning. Now, again: 6.45am, 6.40am.
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‘It is not going to change. After 15 years, my passion is here, my motivation is football. After 15 years of working, your salary increases but that cannot put me in a very comfortable zone to say: “Now I arrive at 9 o’clock and leave at 2 o’clock.” I need to keep pushing myself.
‘That question is true. If now because I move from another club – in another club I was playing for less money, for less expectation, no one is expecting anything from me – but now I arrive here and people really believe that I’m so good but now I feel the pressure, what do I need to do?
‘It is to arrive early, it is to work more. It is to run more, it is to be more focused. What you say is important. Never be in a comfort zone.
‘If you are in a comfort zone you drop your level, you drop your standards. I don’t say that happened here because too many other things happened. But that is one of the things that we are aware of.
‘When you mix this a little bit, a small percentage, easy life, easy that, then when you put it all together it is not easy.
‘The demand to win is completely different. To prepare yourself to win every single game you need to have experience, to be mature, to know yourself and the people around you. Why we are in the process to build something.’
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Manchester United are six places above Chelsea but have nonetheless had a disappointing season themselves under Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils, hoping to reach the top-four places during the remaining matches, were outplayed by Brentford in a lucky 1-1 draw last time out.
Manchester United will travel to Stamford Bridge without centre-backs Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof, who have both been ruled out for ‘at least a month’ with muscular injuries.
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