- Chelsea took 29 players to the USA
- Pochettino wants to reduce squad size
- Admitted team morale could be affected
WHAT HAPPENED? The Blues, who have 29 players in their pre-season camp, were held to a 1-1 draw by Newcastle United in a pre-season friendly in Atlanta with Nicolas Jackson and Miguel Almiron getting on the scoresheet for the two teams. Pochettino is adamant he must reduce the size of his squd before the Premier League kicks off as he fears that team morale could be affected if too many players did not see regular game time.
WHAT THEY SAID: "At the moment the dynamic is very good, really good guys and they are sharing the time together. It is difficult because sometimes in every game three, four, five players cannot play and that is difficult because the mood is difficult. It is about creating a squad with good balance and people who have the opportunity to play and can compete for their place," he told after the friendly.
"That is a big job and challenge for us in the transfer window to build a good relationship and good balance. Then, if players are not happy because they believe they are not going to play, we are going to find a solution with the club and fix the situation. What we cannot have is a massive squad, players not be involved and then it's going to create a mess in the squad. Maybe less is more and more is less, it is not mathematic. That is why I need to make clear we don't need a big squad. We need 22, 23, 24 players with some younger and that's it. I am so sorry because maybe the decision will be tough but we need to build a good and balanced team who want to compete for things," he added.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Pochettino insisted that he needs a "happy" squad and warned the players that they must prove their mettle to the coaching staff to earn a starting berth.
"Players that will be here next season need to be happy. If they believe they need to be in the starting 11 and they are not going to accept being on the bench because of the coach - Chelsea pay me to choose 11 players - it is better they talk from now. We need to stop thinking 'I come here to play'. No, 'I come here to help the club to achieve what we want and then I need to convince the coaching staff that I deserve to play. That is why always it is important to have the right players, the right balance and then accept what is going on," he added.
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WHAT NEXT? Pochettino's problems stem from the the Blues having spent £600 million ($763m) across the last two transfer windows. It remains to be seen how Pochettino handles the rest of the summer clear-out after already releasing more than 10 players including the likes of Kai Havertz and Mason Mount.