• Manager says it is important for players to learn from mistakes
• Chelsea face Tottenham aiming to boost their European chances

Mauricio Pochettino has said the volume of youngsters at Chelsea has made it harder to guide his players down the right path.

Pochettino, who is determined to build his inconsistent team’s mentality, wanted to talk before Thursday’s home game against Tottenham about the challenge of looking after a squad full of youthful players. The Argentinian explained that helping young players learn from their mistakes was more difficult when the dressing room is so short on experienced figures.

• Inguinal hernia has hampered £106.8m Argentina midfielder
• Mauricio Pochettino under pressure after consecutive defeats

Mauricio Pochettino’s hopes of holding on to his job as Chelsea’s head coach have been complicated by Enzo Fernández needing to undergo surgery on a groin injury that will rule out the £106.8m midfielder for the rest of the season.

Fernández has an inguinal hernia and the operation is set to sideline the Argentinian for the final six games, beginning with Saturday night’s trip to Aston Villa. The former Benfica midfielder has clearly been hampered by the injury and having surgery now will keep him in contention to play at this summer’s Copa América.

• Ben Chilwell has not started for Chelsea for nearly a month
• Sánchez, Chalobah and Chukwuemeka also injured

Mauricio Pochettino admitted he was surprised Ben Chilwell started two games for England during the international break, having only recently returned from a knee injury. The defender last started for Chelsea on 2 March against Brentford and since then has played only a few minutes for the club, as a late substitute in the FA Cup against Leicester.

Yet he played the entirety of England’s 2-2 draw with Belgium on Tuesday, three days after completing 67 minutes against Brazil . The Argentinian is no closer to seeing the end of his team’s injury crisis with nine players currently ruled out of Saturday’s meeting with Burnley at Stamford Bridge.

• Chelsea manager needs to ‘be in my place’ regarding transfers
• Reece James returns to light training but will not be rushed back

Mauricio Pochettino refused to comment on whether managers should have more power at Chelsea amid growing questions over Conor Gallagher’s future at the club.

Pochettino said that “I am the coach that needs to be in my place” when asked whether he would try to persuade Gallagher, whose contract expires next year, to stay. The Argentinian, who wants to keep the midfielder, said it was down to the player and Chelsea’s owners, who have handed responsibility for recruitment to the co-sporting directors, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley.

Manager has three months to convince restless owners he can succeed despite their wasteful spending and flawed strategy

Those lost 30 minutes will haunt Mauricio Pochettino. Chelsea’s inexplicable lethargy during extra time against Liverpool will stain their head coach’s reputation. For Pochettino, who is yet to win a trophy in English football, the accusation that he bottles the big occasions will be hard to shake off after the manner of his side’s 1-0 defeat in the Carabao Cup final.

Reputations are made in those moments. Unfortunately for Pochettino, it is hard to find anyone willing to place much store in Paris Saint-Germain’s financial might helping him to three trophies in France. Before facing Liverpool there was more focus on the semi-finals and finals that got away from the Argentinian during his Tottenham days. Unfairly or not, the only way to answer the question of whether Pochettino was ruthless enough was with a statement win. He had to show Chelsea fans he was capable of beating Jürgen Klopp .

• Chelsea manager fears officials could be caught up in emotion
• Pochettino: ‘We need to be fair in every single decision’

Mauricio Pochettino has urged the officials in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final to be “fair” as he warned against them getting caught up in the emotion around Jürgen Klopp’s departure from Liverpool .

Chelsea’s head coach looked to ramp up the mind games as he called on Chris Kavanagh, who will referee the final, to treat both teams equally. Pochettino referenced Chelsea being denied two penalties when they lost 4-1 to Liverpool at Anfield last month and said he did not want his side’s task at Wembley made harder by forces out of their control.

• Argentinian under pressure to deliver win over Sheffield United
• ‘The moment that they stop trusting, you will see not me here’

Mauricio Pochettino has said that he trusts Chelsea’s owners to give him time to revive the club’s fortunes after a difficult start to the season.

Chelsea go into Saturday afternoon’s home game against Sheffield United with Pochettino under pressure to secure a victory over the Premier League’s bottom side. The Argentinian was frustrated after last week’s defeat to Everton , a result that left his side in 12th place, and suggested he wanted more signings in January.

A brave transfer strategy is in play at Stamford Bridge and clubs such as Manchester United should take note

It remains to be seen whether Chelsea’s decision to prioritise potential over proven talent in the transfer market is a recipe for success, but one element of their recruitment strategy under the ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital deserves more praise.

Manchester United could learn from the ruthlessness. Erik ten Hag has said repeatedly that he wanted to improve the culture of the club when he took over at Old Trafford but that sounds similar to what Frank Lampard was saying after being appointed as Chelsea’s interim manager last April. Lampard, renowned for his dedication during his playing career, could not believe how far standards had dipped in training. Chelsea, whose oversized squad contained far too many disgruntled players, had to act.

Christophe Galtier entraîneur du PSG à la place de Pochettino  (Christophe Galtier le 7 mai 2022. AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

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Une conférence de presse se déroulera dans l’Auditorium du Parc des Princes ce mardi 5 juillet à 14h.

Un évènement qui sera diffusé en direct sur #PSGtv https://t.co/Mb8N6rCJ8q

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) July 4, 2022