Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has called on Chelsea supporters to quit antagonizing Raheem Sterling and rather back their player through what has been a difficult time for the forward.

Pochettino is making this call after Chelsea’s 4-2 defeat of Leicester City in the FA Cup just before the international break, where Raheem Sterling was booed by supporters for missing a penalty and a couple of other chances.

Raheem Sterling has been facing constant power criticism from fans this season, and he was booed when Mauricio Pochettino chose to substitute Mykhailo Mykhailo Mudryk instead of Raheem Sterling with 12 minutes left on the clock.

The Argentine manager urged the fans to move on and support the rest of the squad with about 10 games left in the season for the Blues.

“We now need to move on. It will help if we do. What we cannot do is create bigger things from this now because we know fans love our players, and I know they will support him and the rest of the team. Raheem is a spirited player, and he understands it all. We need to be careful in the way we talk and give our opinions because there needs to be a strong relationship between everyone. I just want our players to play really well. I was also suffering the anger of the fans and their disappointment; in fact, the whole team suffered in this situation.” said Pochettino

Chelsea currently have 39 points from 27 games played, meaning they have 11 matches left in the season as they sit in 11 positions on the table. Despite the dismal performance this season, the Blues still stand a chance of making it to the European competitions next season if they win the FA Cup as they face Manchester City in the semi-final.

Chelsea’s next Premier League fixture is against Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu