Mauricio Pochettino refuses to use a certain word to describe his players after 5-0 loss | OneFootball

Mauricio Pochettino has just taken his press conference following Chelsea’s 5-0 loss to Arsenal. It was one of the coldest and most glum of these for a while – and that’s saying something.

Once again it was served up on a plate for him to criticise his players, but once again he stolidly refused to take the bait. He was openly asked by a journalist if he and his players felt “embarrassed” by the performance and result, but he insisted that he wasn’t “going to use a word that is unfair,” when it came to his group.

His policy of keeping them sweet is understandable given what’s happened to so many coaches before him. But are we really getting anywhere doing this?

“I am not going to blame the players. The circumstances are bigger than the performance here,” the coach said.

!We cannot blame young guys that came here after suffering circumstances and came here to fight against a team fighting to win the Premier League. I am not going to use a word [embarrassed] that is unfair to describe our players.”

Well if Mauricio doesn’t want to, we’ll happily fill in: we’re embarrassed. That was embarrassing. The players should be embarrassed, as should he. Perhaps, instead of being nice to them, he should try being nasty and see where that gets him. It certainly can’t get worse than this, so there’s not much to lose.

Certainly the pundits on TV weren’t holding back in their assessment. Honestly, if losing 5-0 to Arsenal isn’t embarrassing, what is? Conceding the most goals ever in a Premier League season? Well, as of tonight we’ve done that, and there are plenty of games left to set an unbeatable new record.

How about spending a billion and finishing in mid-table? Is that embarrassing? We could go on…