LONDON, July 8 : 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”.
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 August 13th. ”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.”
Growing list
Captain Cesar Azpilicueta on Thursday moved to Atletico Madrid, joining the growing list of players leaving Chelsea in the close season after the exits of Kalidou Koulibaly, N’Golo Kante and Edouard Mendy, who all joined Saudi Pro League clubs.
Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovacic and academy product Mason Mount have signed for Premier League rivals Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United respectively.
Pochettino is the third permanent Chelsea manager since the club’s sale in 2022 to a consortium led by LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and backed by Clearlake Capital, a private equity firm.
The Argentine said he did not think long before accepting the offer.
“I trust in (the sporting directors) Paul (Winstanley), Laurence (Stewart) and the owners that they will provide the tools to be competitive,” Pochettino added.
John Terry to return
Former Chelsea captain John Terry announced his return to the academy of the Premier League club just less than a month after his stint with Leicester City, where he was the assistant manager.The 42-year-old former England skipper returned to Chelsea in a coaching consultancy role in 2022 before joining Dean Smith’s coaching staff at Leicester in April this year. (Agencies)