Chelsea's stars given three days off after edging out neighbours Fulham

 Chelsea's players and staff were given three days off after edging out neighbours Fulham, with Mauricio Pochettino feeling they need a chance to catch their breath before attacking the second half of the season.

He needs it, too. Pochettino was a frantic, arm-flapping presence on the touchline as Chelsea clung on to their slender lead after Cole Palmer’s penalty in first-half stoppage time.

The Blues manager spent the last few minutes kicking every ball when his players poured forward to seek a second goal, then desperately beckoning them back to defend as Fulham broke.

He was then imploring them in pained hope to concentrate amid a late flurry of Fulham set-pieces, but the final whistle brought relief and so Pochettino could breathe again.

For the next couple of days he is seeing family in Spain during Chelsea’s 10-day gap between matches — though he said he will not be able to turn his phone off with the transfer window open. 

Pochettino needed a win as much as anyone after last week’s Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg defeat at Middlesbrough. This was not an emphatic response but it was at least a victory.

Chelsea have won four of their last five games, three in a row in the Premier League and four on the bounce at home in the league. But performances are unconvincing and fan frustration is not far from the surface.

Even Axel Disasi was surprised when he was told the position to which Chelsea had climbed by beating Fulham. 

‘We are eighth?!’ the defender said — before they were pushed back down to ninth by Manchester United on Sunday.

Disasi added: ‘We are not in the position we want but if we keep the same mentality we showed against Fulham at the end of the season, it could be good.’

Chelsea do not play again in the league until they visit Liverpool at the end of the month, after their return game against Boro and the FA Cup fourth-round tie with Aston Villa. But not before a welcome break.

Pochettino said: ‘We need to give some rest to the players and the staff because it is a really busy period and they need to breathe a little bit. 

'I think they need three days off. They need to revive.’

As for his plans, Pochettino smiled and said: ‘I need to go to see my family and it is going to be good to have a change. 

'I won’t really be able to switch off — not with the chairman! I will need to be available 24 hours a day.

‘I would prefer it if the phone did not ring. If it does not ring, it is much better for me.’