Pochettino assures there’s no rift with experienced Chelsea star

Photo: Reuters

Mauricio Pochettino has cleared doubts regarding his relationship with Thiago Silva, insisting things are fine between them.

Silva has been left out on the bench for some Chelsea games this season, much to the surprise of fans, especially considering he’s hardly put a foot wrong since he joined the club.

The issue of the Brazilian being snubbed for Chelsea’s captaincy has also caused some concern, with reports recently claiming that players in the club’s dressing room aren’t happy about the situation, but Pochettino has now insisted that his decisions have been purely tactical.

“We have other experienced players also,” he added. “Axel [Disasi], Benoit [Badiashile], Levi [Colwill], I think they have experience. They can deal with it and already we’ve played some games without Thiago.

“Even when we play with Thiago, sometimes we won and sometimes we didn’t. Of course, always he’s an important player because of his experience, but he’s an important player whether he is on or off the pitch, because he shares that experience.”