‘This is rock bottom’ – Mauricio Pochettino accused of ‘gaslighting’ US football fans as they slump to terrible new low
MAURICIO POCHETTINO was accused of “gaslighting” US football fans after his side slumped to LAST place in the Concacaf Nations League finals.
Poch’s side lost 2-1 to Canada in the third-place game in Los Angeles, with Mexico beating Panama to lift the trophy.
But a second successive defeat in four days piled the pressure on the former Tottenham and Chelsea boss, with fans inside the So-Fi stadium questioning the commitment of his team..
Pochettino tried to downplay the significance of the loss, which followed on from a shock reverse to Panama on Thursday.
He said: “It’s better to lose now because I think we have time.
“Because if we will be in this situation in one year time, for sure. I will tell you, ‘Houston, we have a problem. SOS’.”
US legend Landon Donovan was among the critics of a side including former Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic.
Donovan said: “I’m so sick of hearing how ‘talented’ this group of players is and all the amazing clubs they play for.
“If you aren’t going to show up and actually give a s*** about playing for your national team, decline the invite. Talent is great, pride is better.”
Former Bolton and USA midfielder Stuart Holden added: “Pochettino is gaslighting us.
“US Soccer created this situation by going for a big hire and nothing matters for Pochettino before the World Cup.
“But this is rock bottom. Can you imagine what would have happened if Greg Berhalter was still the coach?
“He would have been fired in the locker room. He wouldn’t have made it out of the stadium.
“It went as badly as it could have done for Pochettino and the team. There are question marks over every part of the pitch.”
Argentine Poch urged agitated fans to keep calm, although he conceded too many of his players had been in “automatic pilot” mode.
He said: ”This was the floor but we can rise up. I’d say to the fans, don’t be pessimistic, don’t get bad feelings.
“We have time and I’d prefer this to happen now than in one year.
“Of course we are all disappointed. The fans need to feel that. But I’m not going to allow us to feel pessimistic because I think we have good players.
“We are going to find a way to perform and for sure we are going to compete in a different way. We need these games to affect us in a positive way.”
But former US star Alexei Lalas responded: “I’m trying to stop myself from being numb and apathetic but this was not just an uninspiring performance but a boring one.
“It was a complete disaster, a failure. Lots of people are asking me if these players care and displays like that do nothing to dispel those questions.“