Antonio Rudiger sends warning to Chelsea over Mauricio Pochettino

Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger has urged former club Chelsea to give head coach Mauricio Pochettino more time to implement his vision at Stamford Bridge.

Pochettino has faced scrutiny during his first season in charge of the Blues, but they remain in strong contention to qualify for Europe heading into the final few weeks of the campaign. They also reached the Carabao Cup final but were defeated by Liverpool, while they came agonisingly close to beating Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday.

Rudiger, who left Chelsea for Madrid on a free transfer in the summer of 2022, told Sky Sports News he has sympathy for Pochettino and hopes to see him given more time to get the club back on track.

"Of course, it's a tough season because there's a lot of new players, a new coach, everything new. So I just hope the coach the time to form his team," Rudiger said.

"And I hope the players step up to the cause because Chelsea is about silverware. To see them not winning anything is tough. But they're trying their best because it's a very young team, so I'm looking forward to the future to see them compete again."

Chelsea cycled their way through four managers during BlueCo and Todd Boehly's debut 2022/23 season in charge of the club. Thomas Tuchel began the campaign in the dugout but was replaced in September by Graham Potter, who in turn was sacked in April. Bruno Saltor took caretaker charge for one match before, Blues legend Frank Lampard returned on a deal until the end of the season.

Pochettino's side currently sit ninth in the Premier League table but are only three points behin sixth-place Newcastle United.

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