Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag handed sacking warning ahead of Man United vs Chelsea

Top tier football and pressure go hand in hand, something that both Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino will understand more than most. With expectation comes a demand to reach those levels — or at least show a sign of constant improvement towards them — every time the team steps onto the field.

Chelsea are a club that have been laden in success in the past two decades, with the Roman Abramovich era bringing big spending and trophies. While they haven't been the winning machine that Manchester City are now, they were never too far from that next triumph.

That all changed when the Russian oligarch was forced to sell the club in 2022, with his assets frozen in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. BlueCo won the race to become the next owners, bringing with them a plan to reinvent the setup with a greater focus on youth products.

A 12th-placed finish with several managerial changes in their first season suggests there's plenty to work on, but the huge transfer spend has only increased expectations. The arrival of Pochettino has come with the aim to improve on that dismal campaign and potentially push for a European place.

With the Blues currently tenth, there's still frustration at the slow nature of their ascent but there has been a clear improvement in performances. Promise has been shown by some of the signings that are backed to become world-beaters in their own right, but results often do the talking.

Chelsea news and transfers LIVE — Nkunku injury return, Colwill admission, sack prediction

What Mauricio Pochettino made Chelsea players do before Man Utd game to fix Premier League issue

There's still a sense that Pochettino is only one game, one half, one minute from the next possible meltdown and calls for him to