Mauricio Pochettino likes to keep a bowl of lemons in his office

Posted Friday, May 19, 2023 by sportbible

If his previous spells in management are anything to go by, Mauricio Pochettino will keep a bowl of lemons in his office if he takes over at Chelsea.

The former Southampton, Spurs and Paris Saint-Germain manager has agreed terms to take charge at Stamford Bridge in the summer, with an official announcement expected in the coming days.

After a far-from-convincing season that has seen Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Bruno Saltor and Frank Lampard on the touchline, Pochettino certainly has a challenge on his hands.

He will be expected to bring his tried-and-tested methods to the table when he arrives, including the much-talked about 'Gacon Test' – an exercise that sees players given 45 seconds to cover 150 metres with 15 seconds to rest.

The 51-year-old, who is said to have agreed a three-year contract following extensive talks with co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, will also display a bowl of lemons in his office thanks to an Argentine friend who told him they absorb negative energy.

Speaking to talkSPORT about the method, Poch said: “They are there to get rid of bad energy. Some people arrive with bad energy and that goes into the lemons. It’s like a barrier, a sponge. They take away all the negativity and you can see – it’s unbelievable.

“I change the lemons maybe every 10 days. But sometimes every three or four days because the lemons become bad, ugly.”

As you can see in the picture below, Pochettino's lemon bowl was on show when he was interviewed by Sky Sports during his spell at Tottenham.

As mentioned above, Pochettino will likely use the infamous 'Gacon Test' when he takes over at Chelsea.

Harry Winks, who played under the Argentine during his time at Spurs, revealed his dislike of the method in 2017. "It’s a killer," the midfielder said, “An absolute killer. You can imagine, after 13 or so runs, you get knackered.

"You get two warnings, if you miss the time, then you’re out. But I did really well, I was one of the last to finish. I think I got to level 20. I really pushed myself to the limit and luckily enough I did well.”

Do you think Pochettino will succeed at Chelsea?