“You’d be lucky to be working in Tesco!” – Ex-Chelsea star opens up on how brutal rant from Jose Mourinho made him train like Ibrahimovic
Former Chelsea striker Carlton Cole revealed an interesting incident involving former Blues boss Jose Mourinho, known for his fiery demeanor, which led the Englishman to train like "prime Ibrahimovic."
Following a harrowing 4-0 Premier League defeat to Liverpool, the current AS Roma manager informed his players in training that the standards needed to significantly improve. Cole didn't even feature in the game but found himself directly in the firing line of the boss.
He recently told Jaackmaate’s Happy Hour podcast (via GOAL)
“I've sat down, and I'm thinking ‘Here we go … someone's going to get the hair-dryer treatment'. But it was all about me! He was going to me ‘Listen Carlton, you're never gonna make it'.
"'You’re not serious, all you care about is going out, you’d be lucky to be working in Tesco’s'. I was only 21 at the time, I was thinking ‘that’s a big drop.”
Mourinho's words had the desired effect on Cole, who arrived at the next training looking to give his all. He reminisced:
“I’ll tell you what. I went out to train I had the best training session of my life. I was like prime Ibrahimovic – just smashing balls, using my body, I was on top form!”
Cole, who appeared 34 times across competitions for the Blues, played 14 of those games under Mourinho, scoring once.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino hails Nicolas Jackson's technique
Chelsea have made a rather underwhelming start to their 2023-24 campaign under new boss Mauricio Pochettino, going winless in two games.
The Argentinian is overseeing a massive rebuild, bidding adieu to a plethora of experienced campaigners and bringing in new ones. One such player, Nicolas Jackson, arriving from Villarreal for €35 million, has impressed Pochettino with his technique.
The 22-year-old centre-forward started both games under Pochettino. Hailing Jackson for his character and ability to improve quickly, the Argentinian told The Athletic:
“Really good. He’s still young, but he has the character and capacity to improve quickly. He’s going to score lots of goals."
"His work ethic on the pitch, how he presses, his quality when he drives the ball and his technique when he’s running at intensity is really unbelievable. He’s going to be fantastic for us.”
Jackson will hope to open his Chelsea account when they welcome newly-promoted Luton Town on Friday (August 25).