Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino admits he is not a fan of cameras in the dressing room as it can become ‘difficult to speak freely’

•  Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is not a fan of cameras in the dressing room
• He was unhappy about Tottenham’s Amazon documentary during his time there
• Pochettino cameras in the dressing room can make it ‘difficult to speak freely’

As the NFL rolls into town with its traditional locker room access for the media, Mauricio Pochettino admits he is no fan of cameras in the dressing room, having experienced it as a player and manager.

The Chelsea manager has had to fend off questions this season about the dressing room visits of Chelsea’s principal owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, with the Argentine being diplomatic about their presence.

But he is adamant that he and his players would not welcome the intrusion of cameras into their inner sanctum, as is commonplace in American sport. Jacksonville Jaguars take on Atlanta Falcons at Wembley on Sunday and then have two more games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the next two weeks.

 Reporters will be welcomed to interview players in the locker rooms as usual, and the prospect of similar access in the Premier League has been raised again.

Premier League clubs met last Thursday to discuss negotiating terms for the next round of domestic TV rights, which go out to tender later this year and will be decided by the end of the season. 

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has admitted he is  not a fan of cameras in the dressing room

He was unhappy about Tottenham’s Amazon Prime Documentary during his time at the club

It is understood broadcasters would like to be able to send cameras into dressing rooms every week as an extension of the trend at some clubs, who have done individual deals with streaming giants for documentaries.

Pochettino was known to be unhappy with the access-all-areas policy for Amazon Prime’s cameras when he was at Tottenham for part of their ‘All or Nothing’ series, and is against a similar move going forward.

He reveals he was happy to speak to the media in the dressing room when he was a young player in Argentina, but says times – and players – have changed since then.

‘In the past, when I was a player in Argentina, the cameras and journalists were in the dressing room after games and the interviews were done there.

‘Now the situation is completely different. I don’t know if our players would accept it. Now it’s more protected and private than in the past. Now everyone has phones and cameras. The media were very respectful with the players, always talking about football back then. Today it is a different business.’

He suggests some scenes in the ‘fly on the wall’ type documentaries are unrealistic. ‘It’s difficult to speak freely. The documentaries, sometimes it’s not natural, it’s prepared. Who wants to be in a documentary where you are not speaking well or you do not look so good? That’s why it’s dangerous to do this type of thing.’

Pochettino would rather keep the spotlight out of the dressing room. ‘The cameras see how the players and coaches act on the pitch. We act natural there because we cannot hide our natural behaviour. Private things…in today’s society, the chance to see things that no-one can see is very attractive (for the public). But I think to keep it private maybe is better.

‘I am from another generation when the dressing room was open. Values were different because we respected each other, journalists knew many things but kept them secret. Today it’s more like: ‘if I have some news, I must beat my colleague to putting it in the media’. That’s what people like to see so maybe it’s more difficult now to open the doors.’

Chelsea are on TV on Monday night as they make the short trip to Fulham, with Pochettino hoping their Carabao Cup win over Brighton last Wednesday can kick-start their Premier League campaign.

Chelsea have won just one of six league games under Pochettino this season and sit 15th in the league

They did beat Brighton 1-0 in the third round of the League Cup last week

The Blues have only won once in the league since Pochettino took over, and fans have become restless, booing them off after successive home defeats. Yet the former Spurs and Paris St Germain manager says he copes better with setbacks than when he was younger.

Asked how he is at home after a change in results, he laughed: ‘You need to ask me how is my wife, not ask my wife how I am (after a win). I need to calm my wife!’

He went on: ‘I am more mature now. I try to keep calm. I hope my wife is happy with my behaviour now.

‘Now my balance is much better than in the past, 10 years ago. As a coaching staff we are more mature now. We are not affected emotionally too much in the past. Even when we win, we are calm. And when things are not so good, we keep calm also, to try to identify the right solution for the team and for the future.’

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