Mauricio Pochettino will fine himself after breaking strict Chelsea rule in front of players

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed he'll punish himself after criticising how he treats referees.

The Blues manager received his third booking of the season in this month's 4-4 draw with Manchester City.

It means Pochettino will serve a touchline ban for Chelsea's trip to St. James' Park to take on Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon.

How managers and players speak to referees is under the spotlight this term following a string of controversial VAR decisions.

Pochettino is keen for his players to speak to officials with respect and keep their discipline, which he criticised striker Nicolas Jackson for lacking previously.

Jackson served a one-match ban after picking up too many yellow cards, plus an internal punishment from the club.

In his pre-match press conference on Friday, Pochettino confirmed his own punishment.

The 51-year-old explained: "He [Jackson] knows why he had to run. And for me, I am going to pay for a dinner. I am going to pay for a dinner because I get suspended now and I cannot run.

"I would prefer to pay. I am taking the players and the staff. It will be a lot."

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Pochettino vented his frustration towards the PGMOL and criticised rules around players and managers communicating with officials.

He continued: "We have to be more flexible — we are too square with things.

"That also doesn’t help the relationship.

"Sometimes, we are frustrated because we were talking in the last managers' meeting [about this]. The coaches need to be more involved in these decisions."

Chelsea are currently 10th in the Premier League but look to have turned a corner under Pochettino.

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He appears to have settled on a front three of Raheem Sterling, Cole Palmer and Jackson.

Palmer's performances since arriving in the summer earned him a first England call-up over the international break and he made his debut in the 2-0 win over Malta.

Victory for Chelsea could see them leapfrog West Ham United and Brighton into eighth, one point behind Newcastle.

Topics: Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea, Premier League

Daniel Marland

Daniel is a social editor for SPORTbible after moving from the writing team. Nearly scored past Stormzy at Old Trafford once.

@DanMarland_