English international Cole Palmer said that Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino deserves all the credit for improving his form, as the London team continued their run for European football with a fourth consecutive Premier League victory on Wednesday.
The comments come amid speculation about Pochettino’s future at Stamford Bridge. The former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain manager has one more year left on his contract with Chelsea.
“The fact that it’s in our hands to secure sixth place is an important thing for us,” Palmer told the BBC. “Chelsea is a big club and everyone wants to finish above sixth place, but we have to look at where we were at the start of the season. The credit goes entirely to the manager. All the players love the manager and want to fight for him.”
Chelsea secured three points away from home against Brighton with a 2-1 victory thanks to Palmer’s goal, his 22nd goal in the league in a spectacular first season with the club.
Since his appointment in May last year, Pochettino has led Chelsea to the League Cup final, which they lost 1-0 to Liverpool, as well as the FA Cup semi-finals, where they lost 1-0 to Pep Guardiola’s City.
Despite Chelsea’s long list of injuries – new signings like forward Christopher Nkunku, defensive midfielder Romeo Lavia, and captain Reece James missed much of the campaign due to injury – Pochettino has shown pride in his team for overcoming setbacks.
“I am very happy for the players, they deserve all the credit for how we worked, for our approach to the game, and for how we tried to implement all the work we were doing in training,” the Argentine told reporters. “I am proud. Facing a team like Brighton is always difficult here. We are very happy because the three points mean we are closer to achieving what we want.”