Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino says he had to tell one fan to support the team during his side’s 2-0 loss against Brentford yesterday.
A supporter was heard criticising Nicolas Jackson during the game and Mauricio Pochettino, speaking to ESPN and other outlets after the match, has claimed that it was starting to impact the striker’s performance, hence his intervention.
It was a bad day at the office for Jackson and the rest of his Chelsea team-mates, who dropped points at home yet again.
So far this season, the Blues have only managed to win one Premier League game at Stamford Bridge.
Mauricio Pochettino comes to Nicolas Jackson’s defence
Talking to ESPN and the rest of the media in his post-match press conference about what happened between Jackson and the Chelsea supporter, Pochettino said: “Because the atmosphere was really really calm, one fan say ‘oh wake up’ and start to abuse a little bit — I don’t say abuse, but it is abusing — and for Nico, he loses a little bit of focus and I say ‘hey, come on, be focused here.’
“I say ‘stop talking in this way, we need to support the players, stay behind the team’ but that’s it. Nothing more.”
Chelsea fans will have to be patient with Nicolas Jackson
At this moment in time, Jackson is Chelsea’s first-choice striker. The Stamford Bridge faithful will be expecting goals from him.
However, the Senegal international is still just 22 years of age and this is his first season in the Premier League. It is no surprise that he has not hit the ground running and supporters are going to need to show him some patience.
Honestly, it is quite unfair that Chelsea have put all of this pressure on a young player who had never played in this country before.
The Blues surely need to sign a new centre-forward in January now who can help him out, and it does look like they could do just that.
There is an expectation that Chelsea will move for Brentford’s Ivan Toney, who missed his side’s 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge because of his ban.
Having an experienced striker like the England international as their first-choice No.9 with Jackson covering him is probably the way to go going forward.
