Mauricio Pochettino 'needs time' to realise Chelsea's 'phenomenal' potential - Rio Ferdinand

TNT Sports pundit Rio Ferdinand and Joe Cole have urged Chelsea to have patience with manager Mauricio Pochettino.

The Blues boss has endured a difficult first season at the helm at Stamford Bridge, with the club currently sitting outside of the European places.

They were also beaten 1-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday, ending any hopes of lifting some silverware this campaign.

But speaking ahead of Chelsea's Premier League clash with Arsenal on TNT Sports, Ferdinand urged the board to stick with the Argentine.

He said: "I think it would be a crime, really, if they were to have invested and recruited all of these young talents.

"The potential they have under the roof is phenomenal. They've got a fantastic academy that's working really well.

"To have brought in Mauricio and just give him one season to integrate all of that at the same time, and to still get results at the same time, to expect that is almost expecting miracles.

"I think he needs to be given time. They need to give him that time to really set the foundations at the football club.

"We've seen at moments there's been ill-discipline et cetera, with the penalty situation, he's trying to nail those things on the head.

"He needs time to implement all those things, not just the tactics, but setting the culture and stuff. With so many new players, these things can't be expected to be achieved overnight."

Pochettino took charge of Chelsea in July 2023, and had won 21 of his 44 games at the helm before the trip across London to face Arsenal on Tuesday.

He replaced Frank Lampard in the dugout, after the former England midfielder was put in interim charge following the sacking of Graham Potter.

The Argentine is the Blues' fifth permanent boss since Antonio Conte was dismissed in July 2018.

In the six years since, the club have lifted the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup, but their last piece of silverware was the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup.

TNT Sports pundit and ex-Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole added: "There's always patches in games. There's always little spells in games where you look at it and you get excited.

"You think 'they've done that well,' 'they defended well' or 'the midfield looks balanced.' Then it will go away, and it's understandable, it's one of the youngest squads in the country.

"I think he's right in the sense that he needs time. These managers are just always asking for time; 'let me work with these players'.

"I think it's crucial, between now and the end of the season, a little bit of consistency for Chelsea will go a long way in whether the owners think to themselves 'we're going to stick with this', which I think they should.

"He's been a proven top manager. He's brilliant at working with young players, and I think he will get there. But they need time."

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