Chelsea star told teammates may stop passing to him after Crystal Palace display
A former Chelsea star has warned Nicolas Jackson that his teammates may stop passing to him if he continues to miss golden opportunities for the Blues.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side needed a late penalty from substitute Noni Madueke to win all three points against Crystal Palace on Wednesday after Michael Olise cancelled out Mykhaylo Mudryk’s early opener.
But things should have been more comfortable for Chelsea after Jackson spurned a brilliant opportunity, flicking the ball over Dean Henderson but wide of the target having been played in on goal by Conor Gallagher.
The Senegal international is among the most profligate strikers in the Premier League this season, and Mario Melchiot reckons his teammates may now be questioning whether they should pass to him or attempt to score themselves when presented with a decision to make.
“Jackson is making it really tough,” said Melchiot. “I watched him and he is making it very, very hard for himself.
“The competition is there and Nkunku. I know Poch said it too ‘he needs time’. I know time is the really difficult part. But Nkunku. I like what he is doing and I hope he keeps progressing.
“But Jackson, I don’t know. I was never a striker. He has the speed and the power. But he doesn’t have the calmness in his head that I feel a proper striker needs. He’s not an old guy. He still has time. The only thing he needs to work on is the calmness.
“People are going to start thinking ‘shall I give to him or should I finish it myself?’ I don’t want him to be in that position because strikers never want to be in that position.”
Mauricio Pochettino picked out fellow forward Noni Madueke for praise after the game, with the young Englishman winning and scoring the penalty toearn the Blues all three points having come on in the second half.
“He (Madueke) played free,”said the manager. “He did what we needed in this moment. I liked it because he showed he was upset with me, disappointed with me because he didn’t play too much. (He thought) ‘Now I’m going to show the coach he can trust in me’.
“We are not a charity, we are a football club. We need to perform. We are here to try and help the players to perform.
“Sometimes we need to be tough. We need to show the reality. Sometimes we need to put (the players) in front of the mirror and say ‘come on, that is not the player that is going to perform’.
“We have an amazing group, but they need to realise that to compete at Chelsea is not (the same) as to compete at another club.
“It’s about winning, about lifting trophies and making history. It’s about respecting the history of the club.
“They need to show me that I can trust them. The mentality is really important. You can not only play with you quality. You have to have quality, but if you don’t have the right mentality and approach every single day, it’s difficult to perform.”
READ MORE: Chelsea MOTM evokes Tuchel heyday as Pochettino hamstrung by vertically challenged Blues
