“Come On!” – Chelsea Boss Mauricio Pochettino Fires Back at Gary Neville’s ‘Blue Billion-Pound Bottlejobs’ Jibe

Seems like Chelsea is finding it difficult to escape criticism this season. And the club has now come under the scrutiny of Manchester United veteran, Gary Neville after losing the Carabao Cup final. The former fullback went on to deem the club ‘blue billion-pound bottlejobs‘, referring to their high spending, and praised Liverpool. However, Mauricio Pochettino chose to hit back at Gary Neville, calling it ‘unfair‘.

Mauricio Pochettino expressed his disappointment in Neville’s comments. He said, “Gary my friend, what you did? Because his opinion now is like always is around, and around, and around, come on! Yes, of course, I cannot agree about that, with all my love to Gary, I think it’s not fair to put this, you know use this type of war in a team that is so brave and in a club that always shows that fight for big things”, he said while defending the team’s resilience.

The club from London showed good resistance in the final against a young Liverpool team dragging it till the end of extra time. The EPL table-toppers did not play their toughest XI with Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Trent Alexander-Arnold left out. Chelsea, on the other hand, missed quite a lot of opportunities to steal the game. The club has spent over $1 billion since it was taken over by Todd Boehly but has not won any trophy since.

On Sunday night, Virgil van Dijk’s header gave the Blues their 6th defeat in finals. This resulted in Neville saying, “In extra-time, it’s been Klopp’s kids against the blue, billion-pound bottlejobs.” 

READ MORE – “Thank You for the Compliment!” – Pep Guardiola Defends ‘Boring’ Manchester City After Gary Neville’s Jibe

Additionally, it was Chelsea’s performance against Leeds United that Mauricio Pochettino was taking as a reference to their bravery. Despite the game being pretty even throughout, Conor Gallagher’s final-minute strike in the 2nd half sealed the deal. The coach feels that these games prove their mettle.

Mauricio Pochettino rejects external validation, displays confidence in Chelsea

The former PSG coach believes that Chelsea just needs to look ahead and not care about Gary Neville’s comments. The Englishman is known to be critical of clubs, but this time, Mauricio Pochettino was quick to react. He said, “Of course nothing to say it’s only to keep moving, it’s not important for the team, it’s not important for us because we know how we are”.

“Who we are and how we behave and in the way that we behave and in and why we lose the game against Liverpool is nothing to do with this”, he asserted while insisting on leaving it behind. Nevertheless, Chelsea remains in contention for the FA Cup and will take on Leicester City in the quarterfinals on March 16th. There is a possibility for this to be a decisive stage for Pochettino’s future at Stamford Bridge.

READ MORE – Mauricio Pochettino Compares Cole Palmer to Lionel Messi After Chelsea’s FA Cup Draw vs Aston Villa