Mauricio Pochettino said he was “so pleased” with the effort of his Chelsea players after their 2-2 draw at Brentford.
The Blues lost further ground in the race for European qualification on a difficult 52nd birthday for Pochettino at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.
Chelsea fans in the away end chanted attacks against Pochettino and Todd Boehly, and also sung for Jose Mourinho and Roman Abramovich.
Axel Disasi rescued a point with an 83rd-minute header but the result leaves Chelsea 19 points off the top four and further increases the scrutiny on Pochettino.
Pochettino said he was “disappointed” his side failed to win but praised the effort of his players after their third game in six days, a run which included their painful Carabao Cup Final defeat to Liverpool after 120 gruelling minutes at Wembley.
“We showed character and that is why I am so pleased with that,” he said.
“Disappointed we did not get the three points but in some point pleased, because after three games in six days the effort was massive. Now we need to keep moving.
“The team was doing a fantastic effort and this is why we need to be pleased with that.
“It was a very difficult game. It is good… the character and we were close to winning the game. Pleased with the effort and now we need to continue.”
Pochettino, who also admitted he does not “feel the love” from Chelsea fans, added: “In the first half we played well. In the second half they started to play direct, we lost some duels, we conceded and when we conceded it was a tough moment for us.
“We showed character. That is the moment important thing because we are building. And we need to put in context, three games in six days was tough. The team deserved more.”
MORE ABOUT