Former Chelsea midfielder, John Obi Mikel, has claimed Mauricio Pochettino would have been sacked if Roman Abramovich still owned the club.

Abramovich was forced to sell the Stamford Bridge outfit over 18 months ago.

The Russian billionaire presided over a ruthless spell of over two decades that saw the team win a lot of silverware.

Todd Boehly, who bought the club from Abramovich, is already on his third permanent manager in less than two seasons, but is struggling to replicate the success of his predecessor.

Pochettino arrived in the summer and is struggling to get the team performing consistently and the Blues sit in 11th place on the Premier League table.

Chelsea, who lost the Carabao Cup final to a young Liverpool side, are now looking likely to miss out on Champions League football again.

Mikel Obi told the Evening Standard: “Some of the criticism has been over the top, but we went through the same thing playing for Chelsea when we were not winning, getting criticised and watching managers losing their jobs. This is Chelsea. You have to win. You have to win games and trophies.

“Yes, we’ve given them time, but they have had time to start gelling, coming together, and playing much better. I defend the players and coach. They have to be given time, but how much time? This is Chelsea FC. If this was the [Roman] Abramovich era, he would have lost his job.”

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