Mauricio Pochettino has slammed some of his Chelsea players, who have been demanding for more game time through their representatives, insisting that they must earn their place on his team.

Chelsea have splashed the cash to bring in a lot of top players in the last three transfer windows, leading to a somewhat bloated squad, even though only 11 players can execute a football match.

Pochettino said at a press conference on Friday: “All of the players after a big period, they are desperate to be involved. They cannot make the mistake. They can be involved, but in which way? They want to be involved but we are competition and the competition is serious.

“After six months, they need to understand to train really, really hard each day because they need to have an impact every time they go to the pitch. The people, the players need to understand that we are not a charity, it’s not a joke, we need to win…

“I am disappointed to have an important player not helping the team. It’s not because we don’t believe in them [when they didn’t play]. It’s about today who is ready to compete and what we expect. Maybe I am talking too much.

“But, come on, it’s annoying me, people around the players, complaining about wanting to play. The club is disappointed after investing big. We invest in the salary. Who suffers for the coaches and club? We need to get the right balance, it’s so important.”