Mauricio Pochettino pulled no punches at his Chelsea unveiling on Friday – insisting he would be judged on trophies alone and there would be no excuses if he fell short.
The manager did his best to sidestep or defuse questions about Tottenham, where he worked for five and a bit seasons from 2014; Chelsea’s rivalry with Spurs has added spice to his appointment. He was particularly keen not to be drawn on the future of Harry Kane and whether he would like to bring the Spurs striker to Stamford Bridge.
Pochettino was most animated and interesting when he looked forward to the challenge at Chelsea and it is surely a big one after the club’s dismal season last time out – the first under the ownership of Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
Chelsea finished 12th in the Premier League, missing out on European qualification for the first time since 2015-16 and, were Pochettino so inclined, he could make the case for needing time and patience.
The squad has been overhauled to a stunning degree under Boehly and Eghbali – the latest outgoing is Christian Pulisic to Milan – with an emphasis on young talent.
At present, Pochettino can count on only a handful of players over the age of 24. The identity of the group – or the lack of one – has been among the many issues.
Pochettino, though, was keen to embrace the volatility of his new role. He knows that Chelsea managers who do not win do not last very long. So probably best to win and not pretend that anything else will do.
“In football, there is no patience,” Pochettino said. “It is difficult to wait and when you are in Chelsea, I believe it is not about asking for time – you need to deliver from day one. 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. We have players that can deliver in the short-term.”
Pochettino, who had been out of work since his departure from Paris Saint-Germain in July of last year, projected confidence; flashes of trademark mischief and cockiness, too. When he discussed his first conversation about the Chelsea job over Zoom with the sporting directors, Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, he suggested that he was also interviewing them.
“I said: ‘I need to know if I need to convince you or if you need to convince me because if I need to convince, give me five minutes and I will put on a nice shirt, shower, aftershave,’” Pochettino said.
There was also a warning for the owners about visiting the dressing room, albeit delivered with a smile. Essentially, it was fine because Pochettino is all about creating a spirit of togetherness. But there had to be lines, permissions. He had to be in charge of this specific area.
“Always they need to communicate [with] myself – I need to know and to prepare,” Pochettino said. “The head coach or the manager is who decides the thing, how it’s going to work, no? In the dressing room, on the pitch, on the training ground … also with the sporting director, all together, to create the line.”
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Pochettino was perfectly happy to aim high and that means aiming at Manchester City. “If you are in a club like Chelsea, you can’t talk about doing a nice job and playing well,” he said. “Of course, I can do a good job, play well and in our style and culture but, of course, it’s to win. If you don’t win in a club like Chelsea, for sure, you are going to suffer. I don’t want to make excuses or talk about the past.
“I love the risk [at Chelsea]. I love to be on the top and with the expectations to be here. It’s a big challenge that I want to feel. I want to feel the adrenaline again, to be there fighting for big things. I repeat: we can win. We can compete and try to beat this amazing team, Manchester City … and Liverpool and the different clubs.”
Pochettino did not want to say whether the Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, had talked to him about a return over the summer – before the appointment of Ange Postecoglou. It has been widely reported that Levy did not. Pochettino’s attitude was that there was no point. “What is it going to change?” he said. “Nothing.”
Pochettino took a similar line on the Spurs support. They used to love him but did it bother him that they were no longer so sure, to put it mildly?
“I don’t believe that the fans will change,” Pochettino said. “But what can they do? Nothing. For me it is about being focused on trying to do my job here. What can I say or do if that happens [Spurs fans hating him]? It’s up to them to keep or not the feelings they were feeling in the past.”
Pochettino was asked directly whether he wanted to sign Kane. “I don’t like to talk about players in another club but you are talking about one of the best strikers in the world,” he replied.
“People are not stupid. They know my relationship with him was always amazing. I saw him when he was young and grow up, achieve all he was achieving and, of course, we have a great relationship. At the moment, we are thinking in different ways. We are not thinking about that. We are working hard to try to provide the squad with good qualities.”
