Rio Ferdinand insists it would be a 'CRIME' if Chelsea sack Pochettino

Rio Ferdinand has warned Chelsea that sacking Mauricio Pochettino after just one season would be 'a crime' and joined Joe Cole in calling for the Blues boss to be given more time.

Pochettino signed a two-year contract at Stamford Bridge after joining the club during the summer and marked his return to the Premier League having previously managed Tottenham.

The 52-year-old has been heavily backed in the transfer market but has seen his youthful squad struggle for consistency and Chelsea are now set for another trophyless season.

New signings have so far struggled to settle and spending most of the season in midtable has fuelled talk of owner Todd Boehly sanctioning another managerial change.

Manchester United legend Ferdinand believes Pochettino needs to be given longer to get the best out of his squad fledgling with 'phenomenal' talent and rubbished suggestions that a new dugout chief would do a better job in current circumstances.

'I think it will be a crime, really [if Pochettino was sacked], if they have sort of invested and recruited all of these young talents,' he told TNT Sports.

'The potential they have under the roof is phenomenal. They've got a fantastic academy that's working really well and then to have brought in Mauricio and just give him one season, to integrate all of that at the same time and to still get results at the same time, to expect that he's almost expecting miracles, I think he [Boehly] needs to give him time.

'They need to give him that time to really set the foundation for the football club we've seen at moments, there's been ill discipline, etc, the penalty situation, he's trying to narrow them.

'Things on the head. He needs time to implement all those things, not just the tactics, but setting the