Mauricio Pochettino reveals Thiago Silva ‘came to talk’ after Brazilian’s wife appeared to call for Chelsea boss to be SACKED, as he insists relationship with defender is still ‘strong’
- Thiago Silva’s wife wrote on social media that it is ‘time for change’ at Chelsea
- Mauricio Pochettino is under huge pressure with big-spending Blues struggling
- Chelsea are a mess and it’s hard to find the answers… but they have to keep the faith and stay patient – It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Mauricio Pochettino told Chelsea’s players that he trusts in them 100 per cent in a team meeting on Tuesday while the Blues boss also held separate clear-the-air talks with Thiago Silva.
The pressure was piled on Pochettino after Sunday’s 4-2 home defeat by Wolves, when Silva’s wife, Belle, posted on social media: ‘It’s time to change. If you wait any longer it will be too late.’
She has still not deleted the message as the team travel to Aston Villa for their FA Cup’s fourth-round replay on Wednesday.
Yet Silva pulled Pochettino for a discussion on Tuesday to talk it through after arriving at the training ground. ‘He came today to talk with me,’ Chelsea’s manager said. ‘I am not going to talk in the way we were talking. The important thing is he came and wanted to talk with me.
‘He knows me after more than 10 years, who I am, we are a very strong coaching staff and the way we operate. Of course he came to talk. We talked. It was private. And that’s it.’
Mauricio Pochettino has held clear the air talks with Thiago Silva after his wife’s comments
Silva’s wife Belle (above, with him and their two children) took to social media during Chelsea’s defeat by Wolves to call for change at the club
Revealing that he also spoke with the team as a whole at the training ground on Tuesday, Pochettino said: ‘I told the players in a meeting today that I trust you more than ever.
‘I am going to support you more than ever. I am not a normal boss. I am the leader and I need to reflect in every single action that I really trust. Of course we are going to face this moment with knowing that we can get back and start to win games.
‘Of course we are very disappointed because in the way we lose the game and the way we perform wasn’t the plan or the way we wanted to compete. But we need to keep going.’
Pochettino also revealed that he received a message from Chelsea’s owners to say that they are still behind him. ‘I received a very good text from them,’ Pochettino said. ‘We are all together in this. And that is the most important thing.’
Yet Pochettino was accused of admitting that Chelsea are not good enough to finish in the Premier League’s top six this season after the defeat by Wolves.
He tried to clarify those comments here, as he said: ‘I said: “Today, we were not good enough and me the first.”
‘It’s not to take out of context my words. In this game, we were not good enough and that is the reality.
Thiago and Belle Silva pose on the pitch for a photo after a game at Stamford Bridge
Gary O’Neil’s Wolves beat Chelsea 4-2 before celebrating in front of the away end
‘The most difficult thing is to explain to my wife, because she says, “Why are you saying he’s not good enough? Look at this guy, he’s world champion”, and then I say I never said that! I need to show her the post-match press conference. It is the reality we are living and that is why the responsibility is massive.’
Pochettino is calling for patience around Chelsea as he added: ‘After losing against Liverpool, it was like, “Massive, massive fail. Look at Chelsea, how bad.” And of course, they lose now, Liverpool, against Arsenal and I didn’t listen to nothing about that there is a similar result when we played against Liverpool.’
