Former Premier League midfielder Michael Brown cannot believe Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino is using crossbar challenge to help Mykhailo Mudryk with his confidence.
Brown was recently speaking on Friday Football Social.
Mykhailo Mudryk has really struggled at Chelsea since joining from Shakhtar Donetsk in January, and Mauricio Pochettino recently told reporters that he has been playing crossbar challenge with the winger in a bid to get him to believe in himself more.
“With Mudryk, I like to play sometimes to [hit] the crossbar from outside the box,” the Argentine was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
He later went on to add: “Today [Tuesday] was the first day we draw, because I always won. Now you start to believe in yourself, believe in your quality. If not, it’s difficult to balance belief and quality.”
Mudryk is yet to a score goal at Chelsea following his big-money move to the Blues.
Michael Brown not convinced
It is fair to say that Brown is not a fan of this method Pochettino is using to try and give Mudryk a confidence boost.
The BBC pundit said: “It’s got to be a joke this, though, ain’t it? It’s got to be a joke. Crossbar challenge to give him confidence? I mean, really?”
Crossbar challenge working
Perhaps Pochettino is actually having a bit of success with what he is doing here. In the last few games Mudryk has played in, the 22-year-old has looked pretty sharp.
While Chelsea did go on to lose the game, he was quite direct with his dribbling against Aston Villa, really trying to get at Matty Cash. A sign of his confidence increasing?
There is still a lot more work to do, though, with Pochettino needing to turn the Ukrainian into a forward who can offer something in the final third.
After spending so much money on him, Chelsea need Mudryk to start scoring goals and providing assists. That is the only way he is going to be able to prove his worth.
About The Author
