Pochettino delivers blunt warning to stars moaning about lack of game time

Mauricio Pochettino has warned his players and their entourages that Chelsea is not a charity and said he gets annoyed when he hears complaints about them not playing.

Pochettino told his stars game-time is not just handed out without thought and only those who can give his side the best chance of winning on a given day will play.

The Chelsea head coach explained that any omissions are not a reflection of his faith in any player or their quality and more about the depth of talent at his disposal.

Competition for places in certain departments of Pochettino’s squad is hotting up with big summer signings Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia fit again after long-term injuries.

Though Pochettino appeared to have taken exception to some of the discussion about Nkunku not featuring off the bench against Sheffield United last week, before he eventually made his debut in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup tie against Newcastle.

Pochettino said: ‘Lavia is in a similar position to Nkunku, you know? He arrived and never can make his debut. After nearly six months, maybe he will be involved with the team. He is doing well but he still needs time to get his best form.

‘He’s desperate to make his debut and he’s pushing. But

I want to make clear, with the players with a big period off, you know, out of the competition, they are desperate to be involved.

‘But they cannot make the mistake. They can be involved – but in which way? In which form? At what level? It’s easy to say, ‘I want to play’, but we are competing. This is a serious competition.

‘After six months, like Nkunku, like him [Lavia], they need to understand they need to be involved, to train really, really hard every day. They need to be an impact every time they go to the pitch. It’s not to say we