Mauricio Pochettino misses Chelsea moment after Bournemouth

Mauricio Pochettino headed straight down the tunnel at full-time after Chelsea’s final-day victory over Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge. The head coach and his staff played no part in the lap of appreciation in front of the fans, though they returned for Thiago Silva’s farewell speech.

For the boss, it comes after what could be his last game in charge of the club. Chelsea are now expected to carry out an end-of-season review following his first year as head coach, something likely to be positively boosted by the achievement of securing European football.

“I don’t know if that is going to happen or not,” Pochettino said contrary to prior belief after the game. “I don’t have any idea about this. All I can tell you is on Friday night, Todd invited me for a dinner and it was a very nice dinner together.

“But I don’t know about the rumours about the review. My staff tomorrow are flying for their holidays. I am going to stay in London for a few more days. I am always open. My phone is going to be on.”

He added: “I am not going to explain. It is only for you to know that I was with him. I’m not going to talk about this. If I invite you along, and you and me have dinner, it’s not for bad things. I don’t believe that.”

As for being away from his team during the happy scenes at full time? “Because there was no time,” he said. “It was Thiago Silva and then when the players started, Adrian [press officer] was responsible, he told me to come inside. Maybe now I go and do a tour.”

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Chelsea had just made it five wins in a row to end the season thanks to a 2-1 victory over the Cherries, securing sixth spot, meaning Pochettino has navigated the club through a turbulent season. The results will be enough to bring Europa League football next term should Manchester United fail to win the FA Cup next week. If United are victorious at Wembley it will be Conference League football for Chelsea.

The Blues are understood to be considering their options heading into the summer, though, and Pochettino’s recent claims in public that he could walk away or be fine with being sacked, have only added to the questions around his future. Despite the strong finish to the season it has not been an easy ride for the Argentine.

Several times this season he has been booed off the field by Chelsea fans and there remains a divide in the online fanbase over whether he has done enough to warrant another season at the helm. “Look, I expect nothing,” he said before the match of recent positivity from the fans.

“After it’s natural things happen. They’ll come. But if not, it’s not a problem. I’ll show my respect, that’s the most important thing. We always try to be very respectful and we are very respectful. We understand the fans are the best thing a football club can have. That’s why they’re entitled to give their opinion. As a coach, you have to respect them. Even social media now is being nice to me.”