Chelsea co-owner and Clearlake Capital leader Todd Boehly gave manager Mauricio Pochettino a public vote of confidence this week during a Sportico event in Los Angeles. But will it end up being “a dreaded vote of confidence?” Pochettino is nearing the end of his first season in charge, and he has one more year left on his deal.
Pochettino, during his Friday news conference earlier today, raised the possibility of leaving the club this summer. Whether he decides to quit, or he is sacked, or it’s something where both parties want to move on, the Argentine says he would be okay with it.
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“Look, it is not important,” he said on Friday when the question was put to him.
“The most important thing is to keep going, working if we are all happy, not only the owners happy with us, the sporting directors with us, or us with the organization the club is building here because then we are all under assessment.
“If we are happy, perfect. But it is not only if the owners are happy or the sporting directors are happy. If we are happy, you need to ask also because we said ‘look maybe we are not happy with certain situations and maybe we are not happy and we need to split.’
“It is not going to be the first time that a coaching staff decide at the end of the season not to keep going. But understand that it is always the opposite way, always the owners or the sporting directors.
Pochettino and Chelsea have endured a very disappointing, extremely injury-riddled season. They could still finish with on the first page of the standings, and with a berth in European competition for next season. Both of those things would mark improvement over last term. However, it will be another season with zero trophies acquired in southwest London.
“They can say tomorrow ‘until here, we arrive’ or maybe tomorrow I can say ‘look, I want to leave.’ There are two parts who can take a decision. It is not only because Chelsea are not happy, the owners are not happy, the sporting directors are not happy, maybe we are not happy because we arrived here with some job to do but in the end it has not happened what we expect.
“Maybe we are not happy. I don’t say that I am not happy but always it is lacking one side. Maybe the other side say ‘OK, maybe until here’ and we split. It is not a problem. It is not going to be the end of the world.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.