MAURICIO POCHETTINO is waiting in the wings to become the new Chelsea boss if Graham Potter is sacked.
The former Tottenham chief has been out of work since being axed by French giants Paris Saint-Germain in July.
Potter is under huge pressure at Stamford Bridge following a shocking run of only one win in seven games in all competitions.
Fans turned on the ex-Brighton man following their dismal 4-0 FA Cup third-round exit at Manchester City on Sunday.
And SunSport understands Argentine Poch, 50, would be willing to take over if Chelsea called.
But his affiliation with the Blues’ hated rivals Spurs has always been seen as an issue to him moving to West London.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
Pochettino still has a home in the capital and spent a lot of time in the country, even when he was at PSG.
It is understood the Blues board are already considering Potter’s future — despite only hiring him in September.
However, the 47-year-old is expected to be given the rest of this month to see if he can turn things around.
But a poor result against local rivals Fulham tomorrow could see the end of his short reign.
Most read in Football
FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS
Under-pressure Potter said of Sunday’s defeat to City: “The first half was painful and tough for us all.
“We were second best to a very, very good side. We are not in a great moment and even though it was a cagey first 20 minutes we couldn’t attack the backline well enough, we couldn’t attack as well as we would like.
“Manchester City are very good at stopping you doing that but at the same time we struggled.
“In terms of the Premier League, we have lost four matches – to Newcastle away, when we had nine players unavailable, we lost 1-0 to Arsenal, we lost on a bad day to Brighton and we lost to Manchester City.
“We have also drawn to Manchester United and Brentford so the results in a small space of time aren’t positive.
“You can make excuses and look for reasons or say it isn’t good enough. Both of those answers are correct.
“We have to keep improving and stick together because clearly we are suffering as a football club and it’s not nice at all. But that’s where we are at the moment.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
