Joe Cole has thrown his weight behind Mauricio Pochettino ahead of a critical week for Chelsea.
The Blues are languishing ninth in the Premier League and trail fourth-placed Aston Villa by 12 points, but turn their focus to the domestic cups this week.
Championship Middlesbrough visit Stamford Bridge on Tuesday holding a one-goal advantage in the Carabao Cup semi-final while Villa await on Friday in an FA Cup fourth-round tie, but Cole does not believe this week is make-or-break for Pochettino.
“Pochettino is doing a great job. I think the club are not there and everyone needs to get behind Mauricio and really get behind his team because it will take that,” Cole told the PA news agency at the launch of Green Football Weekend at Wembley.
“No, I don’t think it is (make-or-break). I really don’t. What I took from the club is an element of ‘we will go with this, they’re young players’. The people at the top obviously believe bringing in these younger players and having a manager work with them will bear fruit later on.
“I think it needs time. ‘Poch’ has held himself impeccably well since he got there and done a great job. He is doing the right thing, he is trying to take pressure off the players because this isn’t the squad of the last 20 to 25 years of Chelsea.
“This is a different squad that is growing. They can become that if they stick together, learn and develop but there has been pain and there will be short-term pain.
“Nobody at Chelsea is happy sitting eighth in the league, let alone 12th like it was a few weeks ago, but you have to stick with them and let them grow. Let them become players in a top team.
“By the end of the season there needs to be improvement in the performances and something you can hold onto. I don’t think there is any requirements for European football, I don’t think there is any requirements for trophies and we’ve had a reality check.
“This is where we are and we have to build up. Unfortunately in football that is step by step.
“It isn’t ‘we’re going to buy another five players’ and all of a sudden we can compete with Man City. We’ll need to go to the summer, get the next two or three signings right, build again, get a little bit better.
“Hopefully if you make more good decisions than bad decisions, you’ll get back up there.”
The pressure would increase if results were not to go Chelsea’s way this week and one of their great managers is back on the market after Jose Mourinho was sacked by Roma.
While Cole played down his old boss potentially replacing Pochettino, he did insist all of England’s top clubs would talk to Mourinho if a vacancy opened up.
“For me, he has been a success everywhere he has gone and is still a top manager,” Cole added.
“All top clubs in England, if any of them change manager in the next six months and he is out of a job, he will be talked about and it will be a real conversation because he can still manage anybody.”
:: Green Football Weekend is on 3-4 February, head to greenfootballweekend.com to find out more on the campaign and score green goals for your club.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
