Gianfranco Zola sends message to Chelsea fans over 'very unusual' trend

Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola is not impressed with the fans of his old club. It has been a turbulent time for Chelsea, who could miss out on Europe for a second successive season despite mountain-level spending under the current ownership regime.

Graham Potter came and went, and the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino has brought some improvement, but with 11 games remaining in the Blues' season, they are in 11th place and five points off seventh place. Should Chelsea win their games in hand, the picture may look very different, but wins have been hard to come by, with Pochettino's men only winning 11 of their 27 Premier League outings so far.

The lack of consistency has led some Blues fans to boo, and that has not impressed club legend Zola. “I think the fans booing the team is very unusual and disruptive," the Italian told William Hill’s podcast, Up Front with Simon Jordan.

"I played for Chelsea for seven years, and within that time, not everything went well, and we went through our bad spells, but the fans never booed us – they were always on our side. What we’re seeing this year is very strange. I don’t think it’s fair, but considering the level of success that the club has had in the last 10 years, it is natural for their expectations to be so high.

“I don’t think the club should take much notice of it. It’s just frustration, but above all the supporters are behind the team. They may seem to be unhappy and critical, but they are still behind the club which is the most important thing.”

Despite the slow progress, Zola believes Pochettino is the right man for the job and that Chelsea should be patient. “When Pochettino was appointed as manager, I thought he was the best option for the project at hand,” Zola added. “We had a project to bring in young talent, and to develop them, and I believe to do that job, Pochettino is the best man for it.

“Obviously at the time, I didn’t expect all the difficulties they seem to be going through at the moment. I’m not sure what the main problem is because I’m not with them every day. It’s really difficult to have an opinion on it if you’re not close to the team – I still believe Poch was the right choice.”