Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has claimed his full focus is on his own squad in order to 'stay respectful' around Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag after reports suggested over 50 per cent of the Old Trafford dressing room has lost faith in him.
The news, broken by several media outlets including the Manchester Evening News and the Mirror that were promptly banned from this afternoon's press conference, comes ahead of their clash with Chelsea on Wednesday night and in the aftermath of yet another poor week for the club.
Ten Hag's side are still seventh in the Premier League on 24 points — just five points behind the top four — but the overall feeling around the club has been one of disappointment throughout the season so far. Jadon Sancho's exile from the senior side is another point of controversy that the Dutchman has had to deal with after he was dropped ahead of their game against Arsenal in September, the first hint that any member of the dressing room had lost confidence in the manager.
But after a 3-3 draw against Galatasaray in the Champions League in midweek and a 1-0 loss to Newcastle United at St. James' Park last weekend, it's left little to the imagination about the current state behind closed doors after the reports suggest Ten Hag is at risk of losing his players. However, the club did issue a response to the reports amid the bans, claiming: «We're taking action against a number of news organisations today, not for publishing stories we don't like, but for doing so without contacting us first to give us the opportunity to comment, challenge or contextualise.»
They continued, saying: «We believe this is an important principle to defend and we hope it can lead to a re-set in the way we work
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