'I feel incredibly sorry for Pochettino'

Mauricio Pochettino "can walk away with his reputation unscathed," according to the iPaper's chief football writer Daniel Storey.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast, Storey said: "There had been hints that he was not entirely happy with life at Chelsea and that their hierarchy were not entirely happy with him.

"A club only really works if everything is aligned and I do not think that happened. Pochettino wanted some more senior players last summer, but they seem to be perusing this 'buy young and buy high' approach.

"Nothing ever seemed to be fully right, even when the team on the pitch were.

"I feel incredibly sorry for Pochettino, but he can walk away with his reputation unscathed because of what Chelsea seem to represent as a model at the moment."

Former Premier League striker Dion Dublin added: "I feel for managers nowadays because they just have no chance. He has lost two games in the past 16 in all competitions.

"So what have you got to do to keep your job? I do not understand.

"It was going to take any manager a fair bit of time to unshuffle that group of players because no-one knew who was playing where or where the best positions for players was.

"To get such little time I can not get my head around. I think it is a really big mistake."

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