Mauricio Pochettino says he is disappointed with Reece James after Chelsea’s 4-1 loss to Newcastle United yesterday.
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Speaking to football.london and other outlets after the game, Mauricio Pochettino made it clear how he felt about his captain’s sending off.
James will now miss Chelsea’s next Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion next Sunday.
“Disappointed,” the Argentine was quoted as saying by football.london when discussing the 23-year-old’s dismissal. “Look this type of thing happens in football. Of course, disappointed of course because we should finish with a player but it happens and we need to accept.”
His second yellow card, which he got for pulling down Anthony Gordon, was so unnecessary and has now left Pochettino with a bit of a dilemma ahead of the Brighton game.
Marc Cucurella will also be suspended for that match after picking up his fifth caution of the campaign, while it remains to be seen whether Malo Gusto will be fit enough to play after he was left out of the squad for yesterday’s defeat because of injury.
As captain, James should be doing better and not getting frustrated so easily. At 23, some are now going to start questioning whether the England international has the maturity to lead this Chelsea side. On yesterday’s showing, you would have to say no.
But maybe he can learn from this and become a more sensible player as a result.
James is one of Chelsea’s best players, so they need the defender on the pitch. There is not much he can do about the injuries he has been picking up, but getting sent off or not is really down to him.