Optimism surrounding the Argentine's appointment is already at risk of dissipating – he must adjust to alleviate the pressure
Just seven games into his tenure as Chelsea manager, it's clear that the job at hand is already weighing heavily on Mauricio Pochettino. The picture of cool, calm and collected when he was presented as the Blues' new head coach back in July, the Argentine looked bemused and beleaguered as his side went down to Aston Villa on Sunday, the Blues' second successive home defeat.
He is, of course, contending with significant extenuating circumstances, with almost half of the first-team players that he was hoping to call upon this season already out injured for varying lengths of time.
However, Chelsea's stuttering start has regardless failed to inspire confidence that the Blues' fortunes are going to change quickly. It is Pochettino's job to guide them through the storm, but at present it is uncertain that he is following the correct course.
GettyOut of position, out of sorts
Despite Chelsea's mile-long injury list, Pochettino's team selections against both Villa and Bournemouth the previous week would have raised some eyebrows. With Ben Chilwell only fit enough for the bench and Marc Cucurella out, centre-back Levi Colwill was shoehorned in at left-back in a 4-2-3-1 shape, while at the Vitality Stadium, 19-year-old Lesley Ugochukwu was handed a full debut in midfield ahead of £43 million ($53m) signing Cole Palmer, and Enzo Fernandez started in a more advanced midfield role than we are used to seeing him.
Although they weren't terrible in either game, it's little surprise, then, that Chelsea have lacked cohesion since the international break. Colwill is not a natural full-back and lacked the attacking thrust that someone like Ian Maatsen could have provided against lesser opposition, while Fernandez is more comfortable as a box-to-box No.8.
Pochettino even alluded to the set-up being a little muddled in his post-match comments at Bournemouth: "One thing I am disappointed is they [the full-backs] try to go forward too much and create confusion to the offensive players and give the opponent chances to get chances."
This must be caveated by the fact that Pochettino has consulted with his players on their favoured positions, but perhaps it is now time to put his foot down. He said recently: "Our first conversation with all of the players, I love to ask the position they love to play, how they feel, how they see themselves. It's not the position, it's the animation and the way the team is going to link in between them. It's to find the best position…to provide the best platform, position and place and link with the player where they can (show) their best quality."
AdvertisementGettyInjuries aren't helping – but you must adapt
The Argentine pointed to his ever-growing injury list after the Bournemouth stalemate, and you can hardly blame him. Cucurella, Moises Caicedo and Noni Madueke were added to the nine-strong group of absentees before the trip to the south coast, and though Caicedo returned against Villa, Pochettino then watched on as both Nicolas Jackson and Malo Gusto picked up suspensions.
"What I can tell the fans are the circumstances, which we cannot change," the head coach said. "The reality we cannot change. There are too many players not available. We will be strong when we have a full team. Any team in normal circumstances with all the team fit can compete. But what can we do? We have extraordinary belief but bad luck, because we have 12 injured players. Am I going to cry or complain? No. I need to accept this challenge and keep being positive."
Being positive is one thing, but Pochettino must adapt to get the best out of the albeit limited players at his disposal. At Tottenham, he demonstrated a reluctance to deviate from a select group of trusted first-team players, to a fault on certain occasions. At Chelsea, he will not be afforded the same patience, and he needs to use his squad more wisely to play to each individual's strengths.
Although there has been a welcome change of formation, Maatsen was available to play at left-back from the start in both recent games, while Palmer has showed enough to suggest that he is ready to start, which in turn could give a fatigued Fernandez a chance to rest.
GettySlow progress
Pochettino was spot on in his own assessment of Chelsea's current reality, with one win from six Premier League games and five points from a possible 18 not telling the whole story: "Given all the circumstances, I think we are doing very good things, more than people can expect. But Chelsea’s expectation is always to win. We are creating something that we need to believe in. There are young guys who need to feel what it means to be a Chelsea player and what it means to play in the Premier League."
Chelsea making slow progress under the Argentine's tutelage. They are improved in each third of the pitch, although an inability to stick the ball in the back of the net is a significant hindrance.
There is no doubt that untimely injuries have stopped the west Londoners building any sort of early-season momentum; it is a terrible time to have this sort of crisis. The loss of Christopher Nkunku in particular – both a prolific goalscorer and creative force – has been keenly felt.
This was always going to be a drawn-out process, but it may take even longer than many would have imagined for things to finally click for Pochettino's Chelsea.
GettyFan mood can change in an instant
With this difficult period arriving so early in his tenure, the challenge the former Spurs manager faces is to get the fans onside as soon as possible having been denied a honeymoon period in the role to endear himself to the Chelsea faithful.
At present, there is a general understanding that there are mitigating circumstances that are making his job an incredibly difficult one, but in the age of 'Football Twitter' patience can wear thin and fan sentiment can swing drastically.
In fact, quite incredibly, with a quick search of X (formerly Twitter) you can find a host of Chelsea supporters with significant numbers of followers talking up the idea of the club going after Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi after the Blues' slow start to the season.
In Graham Potter, there is very recent evidence that fan mood can influence the decision-making of the club hierarchy. Pochettino must tread carefully.