Chelsea’s players have been left shocked by Mauricio Pochettino leaving his post as head coach by mutual consent after less than a year in the job.

Pochettino had strong support from his players after a positive end to his first season in charge and news of his departure has not gone down well in the dressing room. The mood was summed up by a senior player expressing concern at the constant upheaval at Chelsea, who have already been through five managers since being purchased by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital two years ago. A source close to another player said his client could not believe the news.

Signs that Chelsea were moving in the right direction under Pochettino had left his young team feeling optimistic about the future. There is widespread unhappiness that the Argentinian has been allowed to leave after holding talks with the co-sporting directors, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, and the influential co-controlling owner, Behdad Eghbali. The fear for the players is that Chelsea, who will have some form of European qualification next season, will be back to square one with a new head coach.

It has not gone unnoticed that many players have flocked to social media to thank Pochettino, who was popular because of his man-management skills. Nicolas Jackson uploaded a picture of himself with Pochettino and accompanied it with “facepalm” emojis. “Love you, coach. Wish we could stay together more,” wrote the striker. “But may God continue to bless you and your family.”

Cole Palmer, who excelled under Pochettino after joining from Manchester City, wrote: “Gaffer, thank you for everything you have done for me and making my dreams come true. All the best.”

Moisés Caicedo, Chelsea’s record signing, posted a picture of himself with Pochettino with a crying emoji and said: “Mister! It was a pleasure.” Raheem Sterling said: “Thank you for everything Coach. Good luck for the next chapter.”

Chelsea’s former captain John Terry, who works in the academy, posted on Instagram that he was gutted to see Pochettino and his staff leave. “I just hope we don’t sign or sell any players until we get a manager in,” Terry added.

Chelsea hope to make a swift appointment. They are competing with Brighton for Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna and are monitoring Brentford’s Thomas Frank, Leicester’s Enzo Maresca, Stuttgart’s Sebastien Hoeness and Girona’s Míchel. There is long-standing interest in Burnley’s Vincent Kompany, who is also a target for Bayern Munich.