Axel Disasi rescued a point for Chelsea with a late header at Brentford but only after the hosts had produced a second-half turnaround; Chelsea fans chanted against co-owner Todd Boehly, sung the name of Jose Mourinho and called for Mauricio Pochettino to go during the second half
Saturday 2 March 2024 20:28, UK
Mauricio Pochettino admitted he does not feel loved by Chelsea fans but is not worried by it after supporters called for him to go in their 2-2 draw at Brentford.
Axel Disasi rescued a point with a late header but only after Brentford had produced a second-half turnaround with strikes from Mads Roerslev and Yoane Wissa cancelled out Nicolas Jackson's opener.
Chelsea fans chanted against co-owner Todd Boehly, sung the name of Jose Mourinho and called for Pochettino to go while their side trailed at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Asked in his post-match press conference if he was worried about his relationship with the supporters, Pochettino said: "I am not worried. We need to accept this relationship.
"Someone asked me, 'You feel the love from the fans?' No. We need to build our relationship. You build your relationship by winning games but at the moment we are not matching the expectation. Normally in football, you pay with the coach or with the people above."
Pochettino said he had not heard the chants and added: "It's normal, we were losing the game 2-1 and they expressed their frustration. Of course, I am responsible, I am the head coach."
Chelsea are 11th in the Premier League and advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals in midweek, which is their only remaining chance of silverware this season having lost to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final. Pochettino isn't backing down from the challenge.
"I am fighting with all my sense to try to provide a team with the tools to work, improve, score goals and win games," he said.
"Today is my 52nd birthday, I know this business very well, but I'm never going to give up. I'm ready to fight tomorrow and the next game. We are going to keep going."
Chelsea supporters weren't the only ones unhappy in west London as some Brentford supporters booed their side off at half-time which irked boss Thomas Frank.
"I would like to personally speak to the ones who booed," he said in his post-match press conference. "Is that support? We're talking about Brentford vs Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the world, we're down 1-0. I know I can't swear but what the..?
"They were brilliant when we got to 1-1 and 2-1, they help us so much. We can't do without [them]. I will fight, the staff will fight, the players will fight but we need them as well, not only when it's going in the right way. When it's not going well we need them even more.
"At 2-2, and I understand we're a little bit nervy, it was very quiet. So maybe it was the ones who booed who didn't have more energy. I don't know."
