Gary Neville has expressed his admiration for incoming Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino and believes the Blues will have a “very good season next year” with the Argentine at the helm. Speaking on his Sky Sports podcast, Neville said: “I love Mauricio Pochettino. I always thought if Chelsea brought in Pochettino and refined the squad a little, they could have a very good season next year. Pochettino will not take a job on if he doesn’t think there’s huge potential there and he obviously thinks he can get Chelsea back of the very top of the league. He did it at Tottenham and it’s not a too dissimilar situation at Chelsea. Appointing him early and getting him place way before pre-season will bring stability. I think it’s a really good move. I don’t think Chelsea can lose with this appointment, he will make massive improvements straight away.”
Neville went on to explain that the negotiations between Chelsea and Pochettino have been focused on the former Spurs boss being backed to make changes to the squad. He said: “I think Pochettino has been going to Chelsea for three or four weeks and they have been in negotiations for what’s felt like three or four weeks. I don’t think that will have been about his package or his backroom team, I think that will have been about… are you going to buy into what I want to do with this squad? Because he will have looked at them meticulously, Pochettino, and his recruitment people around him and his staff and he will have said, “right, these are the players I want on the bus and these are the players I don’t want on the bus… and you better back me.” I suspect that is where the negotiations have been centred in the last couple of weeks.”