Chelsea board hand Mauricio Pochettino 'ultimatum' over his future
Chelsea’s board will soon make a final decision on Mauricio Pochettino (Picture: Getty)
Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has received an ‘ultimatum’ from the club’s board over his future in charge of the Blues, according to reports.
The west Londoners are set to conduct a review of Pochettino’s performance at the end of the season following the Argentine’s first campaign at the helm.
Chelsea have largely struggled this term, particularly in the Premier League, although some pundits have defended Pochettino and blamed the club’s owners.
Pochettino guided Chelsea to the Carabao Cup final this season and they narrowly missed out on the FA Cup final after losing in the semi-finals to Manchester City.
It was recently reported that Chelsea had lined up a ‘strong candidate’ to replace Pochettino but recent results may see the former Tottenham boss keep his job.
Chelsea have won their last three Premier League home matches without conceding a goal and scoring 13 times.
They smashed Everton 6-0 at Stamford Bridge before beating rivals Tottenham 2-0 and recording a 5-0 victory over West Ham.
Chelsea have been in fantastic form at Stamford Bridge in recent weeks (Picture: Getty)
Those results mean Chelsea sit seventh in the top-flight table, just two points behind sixth-placed Newcastle United and four points off fifth-placed Spurs.
Chelsea’s board have now reportedly decided to give Pochettino an ‘ultimatum’ – telling him that he will keep his job if the Blues clinch Europa League qualification.
Finishing the season in sixth is likely to be enough for Chelsea to book their spot in the competition for next season, unless Manchester United finish seventh or lower and defeat Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
Should Chelsea finish sixth but United end up seventh or below alongside an FA Cup triumph, the Blues would only qualify for the Europa Conference League.
Chelsea have a number of options in mind if they do decide to axe Pochettino and many names have already been linked to the role.
According to Sky Bet, Jose Mourinho is the current favourite ahead of Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim and Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi.
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