Some fans believe their former midfielder could replace the Argentine (Picture: Chelsea FC)
Cesc Fabregas has revealed why he was at Chelsea’s training ground last week and shared his surprise at Mauricio Pochettino’s sudden departure just days after they spent an hour and a half chatting.
The Argentine coach left the west London club on Tuesday evening by ‘mutual consent’ just 11 months after joining, with the Blues now in the process of looking for a new manager.
After a difficult campaign, Chelsea ended the season with five consecutive victories to secure a place in Europe while they also reached the final of the Carabao Cup and the semi-final of the FA Cup.
Como boss Fabregas says there was no indication during his visit to Cobham on Friday that Pochettino’s tenure was about to come to and end, while his comments torpedoed theories from supporters that he might be in the frame to take over.
‘It’s difficult sometimes to acknowledge or have an opinion when you are not there to see what happened,’ said Fabregas on BBC Sounds’ Planet Premier League podcast on Wednesday. ‘Look, I was there actually. Funnily enough I went to London on the weekend.
‘First of all I had a good relationship with Mauricio. When we played against them I always felt that he was a really nice guy, a gentleman.
‘So I felt they won four games in a row, that was Friday [that he visited], two days before the end of the season, so everything is fun and good and relaxed around the training ground, last game of the season.
Pochettino had finally won over supporters just before his exit (Picture: Getty)
‘I just popped in and he welcomed me so much. I stayed an hour and a half in his office talking football.
‘Obviously talking to some of the people I know working at the club, I saw some ex-teammates as well.
‘So it was really fun and I really enjoyed it and, to be fair, I didn’t have the feeling that this was going to happen. Just looking around, the feeling that you have around the place, I felt that it was nice and easy so I was surprised about the decision.’
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On whether Pochettino seemed frustrated, he continued: ‘I think the behaviour sometimes in press conferences depends on the mood and how you feel things, things that we don’t know are happening inside the clubs so it’s difficult sometimes to judge those situations.
‘But going back to how the team was playing, I felt that there was a real connection between players, the patterns were more clear, they were not changing so much – like at the beginning of the season – in terms of tactics.
‘There was quite a good stability I would say in terms of style and gameplan etcetera. Good results, good dynamic, the fans seemed to be getting on with the players and with Mauricio. So, yeah, we’ll have to now wait and see what happens next.’
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