Patrick Vieira has explained why the next Chelsea manager should be filled with "excitement" despite Chelsea's torrid end to the 2022/23 Premier League season. The Blues suffered their sixth consecutive lost at the hands of London rivals Arsenal with a shocking first half display that saw them 3-0 behind after 34 minutes at Emirates Stadium.
Noni Madueke netted a consolation goal in the second period, but no further clear-cut chances came the way of the visitors. With five games left of the season, Chelsea have remained on a disappointing tally of 39 points for the last month, highlighting the size of the task the next permanent head coach will face.
That is expected to be Mauricio Pochettino, with the former Tottenham boss holding crucial talks with Todd Boehly and his team in Los Angeles this past week. One of the many challenges Pochettino will likely face comes in the transfer market with a bloated squad currently in west London, which has forced several senior stars to be left out of the team in consecutive fixtures.
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How exactly that will be handled is unknown, and despite it seeming a tumultuous task, Vieira has insisted that if Pochettino arrives he should be excited by the challenge.
"I think if you have 26 players to work with, I think that is enough," Vieira said on the topic of Chelsea's bloated squad. "There is nine too many, so how do you manage those nine players? If they are on a long contract and if they are feeling good in London, how do you make them leave the football club?
"This is not an easy job but this is a good job because there is talent. We are talking about Chelsea Football Club, one of the biggest clubs in the country. So, it is an excitement for the new manager."
Giving his own verdict on the ex-Spurs boss, he added: "Pochettino has been really good and his name has been mentioned, but hopefully they will find the manager to put all things right to play high on the table again."
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