Chelsea sent clear Mauricio Pochettino instruction with two fresh demands made

Joe Cole and Rio Ferdinand are both keen to see Chelsea stick with Mauricio Pochettino heading into next season despite some still calling for his head after an inconsistent first year at the club. The Argentine entered Tuesday night's clash with Arsenal in ninth place despite a run of eight league games unbeaten.

It has been a frustrating eight months for the former Tottenham boss in charge as speculation over his future continues into the final four weeks of the season. Even with two appearances at Wembley for the squad, draws to Brentford, Burnley, and Sheffield United in the past month has left a cloud over Pochettino.

His position will be assessed at the end of the season now with plenty of clubs across Europe waiting to make managerial changes as well. Cole and Ferdinand both hope to see Pochettino remain in charge.

"I think it is crucial the club back him," said Cole. "It’s crucial the club give him the keys in the transfer market not just to bring the players in, but to also get the players out the door who he thinks have run their race as a Chelsea player.

"If they do those two things, they will be fine. Too many times in football we have seen managers given jobs, it’s not working on the pitch. I’d like to see the people signing the players take a bit of accountability."

Ferdinand added: "This line-up is a perfect example. It is the youngest team that has ever lined up against Arsenal in the Premier League - that is what he is working with. He is working with young, inexperienced players. Players coming from different leagues, different countries as well.

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"You are going to see the best of these players in the next six months to a year down the line because adaptation takes time, we have seen that with so many players at other clubs down the years. I think there are better days coming for Chelsea if Mauricio and his coaching staff are given the time."

One of the issues for Pochettino has been matching promising performances against the top sides with those of lower-league teams. "It’s absolutely a mindset thing," explains Cole. "When you are a young player, it is easy to get up for Arsenal.

"If you are playing against Bukayo Saka or [Martin] Odegaard, you have that natural fear so it does not matter what you are doing throughout the week, your mind is on the game. It is hard to stay concentrated for ten months as a footballer and be at the same level you are for Arsenal as you are for Sheffield United away.

"That comes later in your career when you are a bit more settled and understanding of your environment, and that is the trick I think Chelsea have missed, not having enough experienced players at times in games when it is going bad and you are looking at your senior players. It might be something they say on the pitch, a minor tweak and that will help them learn.

"That is the lesson they need to learn and a lot of them are not doing that in the squad. That is what I would be concentrating on - good senior players who set the standards over the next year to 18 months."

Ferdinand agrees. "You look at that team there and if they hit a rocky patch in this game today, who are they looking towards to help them navigate them through that? Thiago Silva is the only one, Raheem Sterling with the experience.

"[Cole] Palmer through performance and goals in magic moments is doing that. But I don’t see anyone there that if they hit a bad patch, to say listen, let’s tighten things up and get on the back foot for ten minutes - there is no one doing that."