Mauricio Pochettino claims he “feels the support” of the Chelsea hierarchy and has had positive face-to-face conversations with co-owner Behdad Eghbali following Sunday’s disappointing Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool.
The under-pressure Chelsea head coach also received a “very, very nice message” from fellow co-owner Todd Boehly, saying he was “confident” he would find time to make the club successful.
“From where?” Pochettino said: “I’m sure. Until they decide to tell me something else. But I don’t think they will tell me anything different now.”
Pochettino called on Chelsea to follow the examples of Manchester City and Liverpool in giving their managers time to succeed; It took Jürgen Klopp almost four years to win his first trophy, the Champions League, in 2019.
“And the result [of being patient]?” Pochettino asked. “What kind of result do they get? Are they successful or not?
“Klopp was given support by the club and made to move on, change players, change his style of play. Now that’s why they’re getting what they deserve.
“Making it to the finals of this project after seven, eight months is a great success for us because we cannot say anything different.
“Nobody says anything negative [about Liverpool or City]. It’s like if you win you win, if you lose you lose, that’s okay. Nothing happens.
“But at Chelsea it’s completely different because of the pressure of that. [£1billion spent on the squad]. In my opinion, this is unfair, but in saying this, I accept the ideas.”
Talk of huge spending since Boehly and Eghbali took control irritated Pochettino, who admitted he found it “frustrating”.
“It’s always this £1bn [figure]. I don’t know. I think this is unfair. “This is my view from here,” he said. “When Chelsea loses, it’s always because of, because of, because of. [spending too much]. No, Chelsea’s terms are Chelsea’s terms.
“When the new owners came with intentions they wanted to build something different from the past. This is what we need to understand. We are a part of this project, a part of the structure that wants to progress, but this is just the beginning.
“That’s why we can’t compare with the past. we were talking about [Nicolas] Jackson needs to score. But Jackson can’t be compared to him [Didier] Drogba. Drogba was one of the best strikers in the world. “It is difficult for another Drogba to emerge.”
The other £1 billion question, of course, is whether Pochettino will be given the time he wants. The 51-year-old signed a two-year deal with an option for a third season last summer, but is under intense scrutiny with Chelsea sitting 11th in the Premier League and losing Sunday’s final to a largely depleted Liverpool.
This makes Wednesday’s FA Cup fifth-round home tie against Leeds United all the more important to qualify for European competition, which is likely to be a crucial factor in determining Pochettino’s future. He admitted Europe was “always the target” but said he had not been told he had to formally qualify. “From whom? From the sporting directors and owners? No, I don’t remember, I don’t remember,” he said.
Asked about the owners’ situation, Pochettino added: “I feel their support. I can’t lie to you. When I walked up the steps at Wembley I was so upset. I almost cried. When I got there it was very hard to stop myself. But when I saw Behdad I saw Todd and we shook hands with both of them; one with one hand, the other with the other.
“Then I got a message, a very, very nice text that I could show. Then two hours later I met Behdad in London, away from Wembley. He was really good and he was disappointed like everyone else but he was happy with his performance in the 90 minutes but he knew we couldn’t keep that energy in extra time. “I think people are smart enough to understand that.”
Does this mean it will take time?
“This is out of my hands,” Pochettino said. “We have very good relations with the owners and the sporting directors. It is up to them to trust or not. All the time. It does not depend on the manager’s decision.”
When he agreed to take over at Chelsea, he said, “Nobody held a gun to our heads and said, ‘You have to sign here.'” Chelsea’s history shows that even the change of manager was quick in the past. -Roman Abramovich is currently the third coach working under the new regime.
But Pochettino added: “The problem is that we need time and patience to win games. We need patience from the owner to give it the possibility to continue.”
It contradicted the narrative that the Liverpool team that finished the final was younger; Chelsea’s average age was actually 22.6 years compared to 24.1 years, but this argument misses the point that Klopp’s team were certainly much more inexperienced, with three academy youngsters with almost no experience. first team minutes.
“They say young people are coming onto the field but Malo Gusto is 20, Cole Palmer is 21, ‘but you paid £50 million’ but he is the same age as a man who plays for Liverpool. That’s how you judge the team,” Pochettino defended.
“It’s a wonderful thing because you say [Liverpool] a young team; Yes, but we were younger than them. “It’s always Chelsea and it always looks like ‘a billion’ and you can’t argue with that idea.”
Christopher Nkunku, who came on as a substitute at Wembley, suffered another injury that will sideline him for up to four weeks.