by Mauricio Pochettino has been bombarded with questions about the incident when several Chelsea players fell out in the second half of their win against Everton.
His Blues team responded in perfect fashion against Everton at Stamford Bridge – thumping the Toffees 6-0 in SW6. Pochettino addressed a room full of journalists after the match where he was asked about Cole Palmer, the Noni Madueke incident, the importance of the win and much more.
As ever, football.london here’s the full transcript from Pochettino’s presser. You can read every word below.
I saw you on TV [talking about the Madueke and Nicolas Jackson incident]…
“Yes, I think after we talked about the game but first of all I’m going to tell you, make it clear; the players know, the team knows, the club knows that Cole Palmer is the penalty taker. Everything that happened after I’m so embarrassed, so upset about this situation.
“We were talking in the dressing room about the image we send, because it was Monday Night Football – every country where they were watching the game and we can’t send this kind of image. It’s a shame .I want to apologize to the people and to our fans because that is unacceptable.
“Discipline is the most important thing for the team. That is the quality of the sport. Of course the players have to show that they are hungry to score goals and everything but this kind of situation, we are going to decide. if that happens, we were talking in a very good way because we have to make the situation clear.
READ MORE: Chelsea vs Everton player ratings: Palmer excellent, Jackson excellent, Caicedo excellent
READ MORE: Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke’s reaction to Cole Palmer’s penalty speaks volumes about Chelsea
“But I’m not going to accept this kind of behavior again. I’m going to be very strong if something like this happens again. I was telling them and I promise that this is not going to happen again. It’s kind of the process we have to learn when you have a young squad that the personal goals are sometimes before the collective.
“When you ask me why we are not consistent, why we are not performing sometimes, and then we fall, it is because of the standards. The purpose of the club must be very clear to the young squad. But at the same time they need to be exercised for the team.
“They have to learn really quickly because we are at Chelsea and the demand is high. Having said that, I think we have to move on and talk about the game because 6-0 against a very good team like Everton .We scored six and kept a clean sheet, I think he’s about to be happy No? [the press conference].”
Will there be any punishment for Noni or Nicolas?
“No, no – he is not under punishment. He is about to learn. They are young guys, behave like this. I think it was very good the reaction of [Conor] Gallagher like a captain. I think we can’t show that kind of behavior. That’s a penalty for everybody because they all know if Palmer is on the field, he’s the receiver from the day he started playing.
“We also have to remember when it was a very difficult situation. Remember Burnley? The penalty – nobody wanted to take it but he took the ball and the personality showed from there.
“Look, it happened. We were talking. I can explain all what we were talking about there. That is the shame. I can only apologize and say that it is not going to happen .If they behave like a kid, here it is impossible.
“After the incredible game we were playing from the start, to talk about that today, it’s a shame and it’s unacceptable. We don’t deserve to talk about that. I apologize to the fans and the people because of the way It’s part of the process.
“It’s not easy to build a team. It’s not easy. That’s why we have to learn and be strong in our decision. When I told you that we have all the information to take and make a decision for the next season , that is the kind of thing we need to pay attention to [to].”
Did Noni and Jackson apologize?
“I think we all agree that this type of behavior cannot happen again and that they are wrong.”
Will it have any impact on the weekend, the FA Cup and their places [in the team]?
“No. It doesn’t work like this. They are not experienced players that they really know what they are doing. They are young, they are kids and they need to experience some situations to learn.
“It is like we are in school. It is now to show that they are wrong and now they need to learn. If they are not learning, yes, after we will make some decisions. But now it is on home to learn, it is to use this kind of experience to go forward and move forward.”
When you signed Palmer, did you think he was a player who could score 20 Premier League goals?
“I don’t judge the player when we signed [him]. It is always you hoping for the best. It doesn’t surprise us but of course he is a player who always had the ability to score goals when he was playing for Manchester City.
“You could see he had the ability to score easily, didn’t you? But the way he fits himself in the team and the club. The way he’s performing, I think it’s great. Of course, he’s not a top scorer, but he’s behaving like a top scorer. It’s showing that the club made the right decision to sign him.”
