Former Chelsea manager Ruud Gullit has told Mauricio Pochettino he must be cautious of the players that aren’t playing at Stamford Bridge as they can cause disruption behind the scenes. The Dutchman has delivered some words of advice for the Argentine, who looks set to take over from Frank Lampard at the end of the season as he prepares to seal his long-awaited return to the Premier League.
Pochettino is going to be faced with a monumental task upon arrival at the club with Chelsea currently boasting the Premier League’s most-inflated squad.
Several of Chelsea’s first-team players – including January signing Benoit Badiashile – were left out of their updated Champions League squad at the start of 2023 following a host of new recruits.
Now Poch has been warned to tread carefully as Gullit believes the fringe players are the bad apples – particularly when Chelsea aren’t winning.
He told The Mirror: “There are too many players. Too many good players. How many are there? Thirty?
“If you’ve been bought by Chelsea, then you are at a level and you want to play.
“But they will complain if they are not in the team. The players who aren’t playing are going to talk badly. That’s normal.
“But if Chelsea win, they have nothing to say. They shut up. And now you have players who are in the team on Sunday and out of it on Wednesday. They are moaning, too.
“Chelsea isn’t winning. So they all moan. There are uncertainties everywhere.
“And it’s the ones who don’t play who are the ones you have to be careful of.”
Former Chelsea boss Graham Potter struggled to get to grips with his heavily inflated squad and it proved to be one of his downfalls following his short tenure in west London.
Lampard is having similar problems having only reintroduced Joao Felix to his starting XI last weekend after dropping him to the bench.
Rotation has proved a hindrance for Chelsea this season and should Pochettino be able to successfully trim down his squad, he will be able to adopt a more personal approach to his coaching.
“So, the group is too big. It’s creating a horrible atmosphere,” Gullit added.
“And they took a gamble, buying all these players and putting them on seven-year contracts?
“Did they ever stop to think how they were going to sell them if it didn’t click? It doesn’t look like it.”
Pochettino is believed to have been in London this week to put the finishing touches on his appointment at Chelsea.
The 51-year-old is said to have already discussed potential transfer targets and which players could depart at the end of the season.
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