Eddie Howe manager of Newcastle criticized decision of Chelsea to sack Mauricio Pochettino, calling it a “sad” and “sad” moment for the Premier League.
The Argentina boss was sacked this week after just one year in charge of Chelsea despite finishing sixth and securing European football next season.
Howe was speaking in Melbourne after Wednesday night’s post-season friendly win over Pochettino’s former club Tottenham. “I think Mauricio is a good manager, he does a good job despite the clubs he manages in different countries. “Especially when I think it’s harsh because his performance is very strong.”
Despite Pochettino guiding the Blues to Europe, it has been a difficult year for the former Spurs and Paris Saint-Germain boss.
Chelsea fans praised the team after a series of poor performances and defeats to young Liverpool in the final of the League Cup and Manchester City in the semi-final of the FA Cup.
However, Howe believes that Pochettino “did a good job” and added that “the form in the latter part of the season was very strong, which has seen us finish sixth.”
Several reports in England suggest that the highly-rated Howe could be a candidate for the Chelsea job. Pochettino is the third manager to resign since Todd Boehly’s US-based consortium bought Chelsea, following Thomas Tucel and Graham Potter.
Newcastle have one more friendly to round out their season when they face the A-League All-Stars again in Melbourne on Friday.
