Chelsea: Hasselbaink says Mauricio Pochettino must be ‘reckless’ about cutting Blues squad

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Jamie Redknapp have given a scathing assessment of Chelsea’s current situation after suffering a 4-1 defeat by Manchester United on Thursday night.

Frank Lampard’s side failed to produce a game-winning performance as the hosts took advantage of their chances in front of goal while Chelsea squandered golden chances and missed counterattacks.

Ex-player Hasselbaink has been watching at Old Trafford and telling the next new manager, believed to be Mauricio Pochettino, to be reckless with the players who he feels are not up to par.

The Dutchman expressed concern about Chelsea’s oversized squad of underperforming talent and admitted that the only option might be to send players to train alone or with academy teams, as Redknapp also stressed that it won’t be easy to sign players, who have signed long contracts.

Redknapp first explained to Sky Sports: “The problem is that you can’t just say: ‘I don’t want you anymore, you have to go’, these players have big contracts, it’s much more difficult than people think.”

Hasselbaink added: “He [Pochettino] You may have to be ruthless. If you’re not away, you may need to train at a different time with a different team.

“You have to separate the team you want to work with from those who are going to be disappointed.” Maybe he needs to be ruthless.

“He’ll have to be,” Redknapp added.

Pochettino is expected to take over at Stamford Bridge after the Premier League season wraps up at the weekend.

The Argentine faces the difficult task of downsizing the club’s bloated squad after massive spending by new owners, led by American businessman Todd Boehly, on numerous new players.

Premier League clubs can hire new reinforcements and sell players who are in excess of requirements when the transfer market opens on Wednesday June 14.

Chelsea have won just one Premier League game in the Lampard spell, slipping down to 12th in the English top flight and with a chance of 13th in the standings.

On Thursday, Manchester showed signs of improved attacking play in a lively first half, but an inability to convert chances in front of goal cost the visitors.

Hasselbaink also lamented his former side’s poor performances when Chelsea surrendered in the second half, adding: “The second half was completely different from the first.”

“They came from really good positions, didn’t take their chances and United shouldn’t be 2-0 up.”

“You have to keep going in the second half, they never went on, they looked defeated, there were a few mistakes, it just got worse and worse.”

“I’m disappointed in the second half with the way they have to play and what you give on the pitch.”

“Chelsea were good between penalty areas, very good as soon as they got into the penalty area… not good defensively, (when) attacking, the last pass or the last thing to put the ball in the net wasn’t good at all,” he said added.