Clicky
Sports, Football

Pochettino positive about restoring Chelsea success


By Reuters
Published : 08 Jul 2023 09:06 PM

New Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino is confident the team will only get better as he beds in his ideas and hopes to deliver quickly, the Argentine said on Friday as the west London club presented him at a press conference.

Chelsea appointed Pochettino at the end of May after finishing 12th in the Premier League following a chaotic campaign, during which Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard had spells in charge of the side.

The 51-year-old Pochettino, who has signed a two-year contract with the option of a further year, started work on July 1 and will hope to change Chelsea's fortunes after their worst finish since 1994.

"My target is to win, my aim is to win," the former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris St Germain coach told reporters at Stamford Bridge.

"Football is about today, yesterday. You cannot talk too much long term. We cannot tell people we need six months to create because it seems not good. We need to create the belief from the beginning.

"I think we are going to have a squad that can deliver in the short term and give what we expect and from day one we need to think to win. Then if we don't win, maybe if little by little we need more time to develop our idea, maybe it is possible.

"(But) from the beginning we need to think of the first game of the Premier League, we need to beat Liverpool."

Despite the optimism, Pochettino is aware there is a lot of work to do before they face Juergen Klopp's side in their opening match on Aug. 13.

"For me, it is clear, it is most important to finish the squad, to have a very balanced squad.

"The plan was to reduce the number of players. That for me was the most important, to find the right profiles, the players we are going to add.

"One of the challenges is that people trust my judgement ... That is the biggest power you can have."