Blues boss explains why West Ham is club’s “most dangerous” fixture | OneFootball

Mauricio Pochettino has described Sunday’s game against West Ham as Chelsea’s “most dangerous” following an impressive display against Tottenham.

Despite having 14 players out injured, the Blues turned in one of their best performances of the season to earn a much needed three points in the race for Europe.

It means Pochettino’s side head into this weekend’s showdown with the Hammers, just two points behind Newcastle in seventh and three behind Manchester United in sixth.

Pochettino believes West Ham game is “dangerous”

There hasn’t been much time to reflect on the victory over Spurs with just two days between games, and the focus at Cobham will have been on player recovery, with Chelsea down to the bare bones.

The Argentine handed debuts to 17-year-old Joshua Acheampong and 20-year-old Jimi Tauriainen on Thursday night, but there has been positive news with Levi Colwill and Christopher Nkunku back in full training.

Speaking ahead of the West Ham game the 52-year-old stressed the importance of recovery and why this game is so dangerous for the Blues.

Pochettino has urged Chelsea to show the same intensity against West Ham as they did against Tottenham.

“It is the most dangerous game because now we have to keep the same mentality for Sunday”, Pochettino told the club’s official website.

“We are playing a team who are so strong, have physicality and West Ham are having a fantastic season and have been competing in Europe.

“For us, we need to recover the players. We do not have too many options to add fresh people to the squad and they have had the whole week to prepare.

“That is why the most dangerous games are coming.”

Pochettino highlighted how impressed he was with the work rate against Tottenham, singling out the performance of Noni Madueke, and stressed that injured players returning will really have to make an effort to get back into the side.

“The good thing is the players who are going to return from injuries, they really know and feel that they need to make the effort”, he added.

More Stories / Latest News

Blues boss explains why West Ham is club’s “most dangerous” fixture

4th May 2024, 06:33am

“Top of Chelsea’s list” – Exceptional candidate ready to come to Blues; but club delaying vital decision

3rd May 2024, 08:00pm

“Just because you’re a big name…” – Mauricio Pochettino fires serious warning to £52m man who needs to “make the effort”

3rd May 2024, 07:00pm

“It is not because you are a big name that you have the right to play in the way you want. I think that is the most important thing that we learned from [Tottenham].

“We learned it is not about quality because when you are at Chelsea we suppose you have the quality.

“The most important thing is to work for the team, to give your best and be at your best because if you do not compete and your level is 50 per cent, then it is better for us to have someone with less quality or is maybe younger but is competing at their best and at 100 per cent.”