Mauricio Pochettino is beginning to awaken from his dazed state of delusion believing that his squad are ready to give their best after the 4-1 humiliation by Newcastle last weekend.
The Argentinian is finally starting to realize that Chelsea are in a critical state just as the festive period beckons while the year draws to an end.
The Blues’ disastrous 4-1 defeat at Newcastle last weekend saw the west Londoners stay 10th in the Premier League with hardly any welcoming omens foreboding any progress sufficient for them to challenge for a Champions League place for next season, which is the glittering target the new owners are desperate to achieve.
Pochettino’s attitude now is a total turnaround from what he had thought of his squad prior to the debacle at St James’ Park as the Argentine head coach had previously been protecting his charges from criticism despite their earlier dismal performances apart from their 4-1 trouncing of Tottenham.
His recent post-match comments regarding his players’ attitude were a radical departure from his views of the past, clearly indicating he is no longer going to ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’ and allow them to hide from criticism from within.
He said: “I was really frustrated and disappointed with the performance.
“We were never connected with the game. Even when we scored, it was a moment to go on but the team was never with the right energy to go and compete. We need to blame ourselves.”
Poch conceded that mistakes happen in football – but even Thiago Silva’s blunder in search for a needless goal wasn’t something that upset him the most.
He said: “I am not talking about mistakes. We were not prepared in the best way to compete – that is my concern. We thought we were ready to compete but we didn’t in the way the competition demanded.
“Even if Newcastle were not great, it was an easy win for them.
“It was so easy the way that we conceded goals, the way we were soft in every single challenge and we did not show we were playing for something important.
“These types of games make me very, very, very, very, very angry because it is about showing more personality and character.
“We can not miss this type of opportunity to show our best.
“We cannot come from Tottenham, (win 4-1) Man City, (draw 4-4) where around the world people praised Chelsea and then ‘okay – I stop one step before, I don’t make the effort in the right moment’.
“That is a problem. We need to be more solid in this area. It is about showing more strength in our mental game and being ready to compete.
“I can play football and you can play football….but to compete? I want to be ready to compete but at Newcastle we didn’t.”
Poch was frank in admitting that his players may have been overconfident when they found out Newcastle had 13 players unavailable and with three goalkeepers named on their bench.
He said: “That is about being mature and knowing that you cannot see the opponent, you cannot care about the opponent, you need to go and compete at your best.
“That is the problem, that we didn’t show this capacity to compete. The team against us was a very good team. It is not about three keepers on the bench or not. It is about the way we competed so softly, we didn’t show we were competing for something very important.”
Chelsea face Brighton on Sunday at Stamford Bridge.