It has been a whirlwind season for Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea as he has faced a number of tough battles.
There was a lot of noise before he entered the Stamford Bridge dugout because of his Tottenham past and the fact that the club was in a mess.
Yes, he deserves criticism and the heat that has been coming his way for not pushing Chelsea closer to Champions League football because it feels like they will be without Europe again.
But Pochettino hasn’t been helped by the fact that injuries galore have further destabilised the team, his inability to play a consistent starting XI and get some rhythm going within the squad.
The prime example of that is Romeo Lavia – news broke on Wednesday that he will now miss the remainder of the season because of injury.
The 20-year-old signed from Southampton for £58 million in the summer, but constant injuries have meant that he has only made one appearance against Crystal Palace.
The player himself took to Instagram to express his hurt at enduring such frustration and how ‘I love this squad, this badge and being on the pitch more than anything’.
A number of players offered their support to Lavia in the comments section of his post, including Tino Livramento and Diego Moreira.
Romeo Lavia’s injury
‘Soon they will understand,” wrote Diego Moreira, whilst Tino Livramento told Lavia: “Love you, bro.”
Kyle Walker-Peter stated: “Timing! Stay positive bro.” and Benoit Badiashile said: “We got you, bro.”
Will Mauricio Pochettino be given time at Chelsea?
You feel, just like Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, there are a lot of question marks over Pochettino’s head.
These next few months – and possibly winning the FA Cup – could be defining for these managers.
Pochettino’s issue is that his team won’t secure Champions League football, but those from Old Trafford have a chance.
But with some big-name jobs – Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Barcelona – set to be available in the summer, those under pressure managers just might feel the heat even more.