Mauricio Pochettino shows Boehly he is boss by laying down law with clear demand

Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has sent a stern message to the club’s owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali that he will allow them to enter the dressing room to talk with the players, but only on his terms. The new Blues boss was introduced to the media for the first time since taking charge on July 1 and he has already started to lay down the law, not just with the players, but with the ever-involved ownership group led by Boehly. Boehly and Eghbali have taken a hands-on approach since their consortium completed their £4.25billion takeover in May 2022, with Boehly appointing himself as interim sporting director in a move that produced disastrous results. Their decision-making has been somewhat misguided too, from sacking fan favourite Thomas Tuchel to bringing in Frank Lampard as a caretaker after sacking Graham Potter. In April last season before a crucial Champions League tie with Real Madrid, American billionaire Boehly launched a scathing attack on the players with a brutal assessment of their season, walking into the dressing room and labelling their performances ’embarrassing’. The attempt to motivate the players backfired, however, with Boehly widely criticised for his intervention which was viewed as unnecessary, and Chelsea went on to suffer a humbling 4-0 aggregate defeat. Mauricio Pochettino: The Chelsea boss has told Boehly to abide by his rules for the dressing room. (Image: Getty) Pochettino insists that the owners have a right to make their feelings known to the players. But unlike Potter and Lampard, he has set out the conditions under which Boehly can speak up and have his say – and stated he must be told first before they address the squad. “First of all we need to understand they own the football club and we need to respect that,” Pochettino told reporters. “Another thing is to talk about how we need to behave because that is an important thing. The culture that England, football in England. My responsibility also is to help and altogether add our knowledge and capacity to create a culture of everyone knows how to behave in different situations. Todd Boehly: The American billionaire (R) entered the dressing room last season. (Image: Getty) Mauricio Pochettino: The Argentine has been getting his methods across. (Image: Getty)