Chelsea Women manager Sonia Bompastor is adamant the club are still backing her in the wake of their heavy 5-1 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.
The loss left the reigning WSL champions 12 points off top spot with eight games to play, putting them at risk of missing out on the title for the first time since the 2018/19 season.
Bompastor was brought in to replace Emma Hayes after her trophy-laden spell at the club came to an end when she moved on to become the head coach of the United States Women’s National Team, but the former Lyon boss is under increasing scrutiny with her side third in the table behind both City and Manchester United.
After the game, Bompastor admitted that if the club’s hierarchy did not feel she was the right person for the job, she would go. Now, she has reiterated that the powers that be are behind her and she does not feel under any pressure.
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Highlights from the Women’s Super League clash between Manchester City and Chelsea
“I have felt the support of the club since I joined,” Bompastor said ahead of Chelsea’s WSL game against Tottenham on Sunday.
“I still feel the support of the club. It has been clear. I don’t feel under pressure.
“With the language barrier I maybe didn’t express that correctly after the game. But the support has been unbelievable.
“They support the women’s team. They support me and the players. I have no doubt about that.”
‘Lack of depth’ comments misinterpreted
After the sobering defeat to the WSL leaders last weekend, Bompastor appeared to reaffirm her position that the squad depth was not good enough, something that has been suggested several times this season.
With Chelsea still competing on four fronts, with the club in the fifth round of the FA Cup, the League Cup final and the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Bompastor revealed her frustration with a lack of activity in the January transfer window.
Bompastor has commented on the Chelsea squad depth at different points in the season
However, the Blues boss has now backtracked on those comments and suggested they had been misinterpreted.
“I would like to remind everyone that English is not my first language. I spoke a little bit about the depth in the squad. When I said that after the game, what I meant was we have some key players who have been missing since the beginning of the season,” she said.
“I think it’s probably the main explanation for where we are now. I know it happens in football, but that’s our reality.
“I’m really happy with the players I have in the squad and available. We still have a lot of quality. It doesn’t help when we are competing in all four competitions. That’s what I was trying to say.”
Chelsea in uncharted territory with Bompastor dilemma
Analysis from Sky Sports’ Callum Bishop:
For 4,295 days, there was one question the decision makers at Chelsea would have rarely, if ever, had to ask. ‘Should we sack our women’s manager?’
That is because Emma Hayes built a dominance like no other in the women’s game. Domestically, Chelsea were untouchable. While they may have never got their hands on the European trophy that Hayes and co craved, they were still trailblazers in continental competition when it came to English representation.
Hayes was never going to leave from anything other than her own accord. She had earned that right. And while Bompastor has had success of her own, both in west London and previously at Lyon, she is yet to build up the credentials at Chelsea to make her irreplaceable.
The Blues’ longstanding reign at the top of the WSL had to come to an end at some point. But the fact it is doing so without as much as a whimper has to be cause for concern.
It would be easy for the club to look at how far behind they have fallen, both in a literal sense and in terms of expectations, and take drastic action. That is certainly what would happen to the men’s head coach. But, having not had to consider such a decision in over a decade, it will be interesting to see if anything has to give.
It is comparable to the situation Arne Slot finds himself in with his defence of Liverpool’s Premier League title last season. Except, no one expected Liverpool to win. Everyone expects Bompastor and Chelsea to win. Her employers included.
It remains to be seen what happens next, but much like it is speculated that Slot needs a strong Champions League campaign to give himself some more cache, the same could potentially be the case for Bompastor.
