Chelsea 'to stick with Mauricio Pochettino until end of season'

The former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain boss has been unable to lead the Blues out of mid-table obscurity since being appointed Graham Potter's permanent successor in the summer.

From 37 games in charge of Chelsea, Pochettino has achieved 18 wins, seven draws and 12 defeats, including just 10 wins and six draws from 26 matches in the Premier League to amass 36 points.

The Blues reignited their top-flight campaign over Christmas with four wins from five between December 16 and January 13, but they have since been victorious in just one of their last five Premier League matches.

Saturday's West London derby with Brentford saw Chelsea take the lead through Nicolas Jackson, but Mads Roerslev and Yoane Wissa turned the game on its head for the Bees before Axel Disasi's late leveller, leaving the Blues 11th in the standings.

Pochettino's season hit a new low at the Gtech Community Stadium, where visiting supporters cried out "f*** off Mauricio" and also took aim towards co-owner Todd Boehly, whose scattergun recruitment strategy has not paid dividends.

The Argentine admitted that he was not feeling the love from the fans, some of whom also voiced their support for another Jose Mourinho reunion, but according to the Evening Standard, Chelsea intend to stick with Pochettino for the rest of the campaign.

The 52-year-old's side have performed well in knockout tournaments this term, reaching the EFL Cup final - where they lost to Liverpool - and advancing to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, where they will face Leicester City in a repeat of the 2020-21 final.

Pochettino therefore has some credit in the bank with the Blues hierarchy, who are desperate to avoid a repeat of their dreadful end to the 2022-23 season, when Frank Lampard returned for an interim stint after Potter's sacking.

Pochettino's contract only runs until the end of the 2024-25 season, though, and his job will come under increasing threat if he fails to turn Chelsea's fortunes around between now and the end of the season.

Nevertheless, the ex-Spurs boss apparently has the backing of his players and the owners, who have also never considered hiring Mourinho, despite his current availability after being let go by Roma.

A fascinating managerial merry-go-round is looking likely to materialise in the summer either way, as all of Liverpool, Barcelona and Bayern Munich will be on the hunt for new head coaches.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp and Barcelona manager Xavi both announced their imminent resignations within 48 hours of each other in January, before Bayern confirmed that they would part ways with Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season.

In addition, Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag is thought to be at risk of losing his job under Sir Jim Ratcliffe, while Carlo Ancelotti's future at Real Madrid is also up in the air.