Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has ‘important’ task before transfer deadline

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has warned new Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino that some of his new Chelsea recruits may never live up to their huge price tags. Another £350million has been spent on the already bloated squad at Stamford Bridge as the new owners continue their spending spree under the man who is now their fifth person in the managerial hotspot. Ironically, none of that has been spent on an out-and-out striker – possibly the hardest position of all to come in and meet expectations. Nevertheless, Hasselbaink did just that when he joined Chelsea in the year 2000 for £15m – a fee which at the time matched the English transfer record. Many felt he had left his best Premier League years behind him at Leeds, but Hasselbaink rattled in more than a goal every other game, winning the Golden Boot in his second season. But some never make the same sort of impact. ‘You will see some of them will make it and be able to handle it, but some, as always is the case, they won’t handle the pressure,’ Hasselbaink warned. ‘That is the nature of the beast. I do think Chelsea have bought well, really well with a lot of young players. Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has ‘important’ transfer task before deadline day (Image: GETTY) ‘The most thing now is to trim the squad because there are still a lot of players. Then mould it and everyone can get to know each other.’ The disappointing defeat to West Ham at the weekend has immediately intensified the focus on Pochettino. But ironically Hasselbaink thinks that what the Argentine needs more than anything is some patience. ‘You need to give time,’ Hasselbaink said. ‘They have a lot of players, a lot of talented players but they need to gel and that takes time. It doesn’t matter how much money you throw at it. ‘The only way they will learn is by playing and having that pressure.’ The LiveScore ambassador’s one saving grace is that with UEFA revamping the Champions League from next season, there might be more wriggle room. ‘I think to get in the Champions League this year it is the top five isn’t it, so look without getting ahead of everything, it is a project,’ Hasselbaink added. ‘The Liverpool game showed they can compete with the best but second half against West Ham you can see there are a lot of things to work at. ‘It will not change overnight, that is just a fact and everybody in football knows that but I think they have a lot and they are on the right track. With all due respect to everyone who was there last year, I think they look a lot better than last year.’ To get involved with LiveScore’s Life-changing Goals campaign, head to LiveScore’s official social media channels to find out how you can share your goal with #LiveScore25 and #LifeChangingGoals.