Mauricio Pochettino, the current manager of Chelsea FC, has spoken out about the differences between his new team, Chelsea and his previous club, Tottenham Hotspur. Pochettino, who had a great spell at Tottenham Hotspur, finds his job at Stamford Bridge more difficult as Chelsea sits in 11th place in the Premier League.
Pochettino recognized in a pre-match interview before of Chelsea’s crucial encounter with his old club that a victory against Tottenham may kick-start Chelsea’s season, giving the team with much-needed confidence boost. He emphasized that it is a process, but he believes the game would help them mature faster.
“Sometimes it is one game, one performance, one result or one goal that can help be the trigger to change and complete things.”
Pochettino also had an underwhelming start to his time at Tottenham, only to become arguably the club’s best manager of the Premier League era by reaching the Champions League final in 2019.
Pochettino was also asked whether his current run at Chelsea reminds him of those early Spurs struggles.
“Again, it is difficult to compare because when we arrived it was a year before that [Luka] Modric and [Gareth] Bale left,” he said.
“They spent a lot of money signing players [to replace them] and then started a young project with Harry Kane, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb and Heung-min Son.
“Here, this beginning is tougher, because with this young team, it is harder to find a way to perform.
“We are putting pressure on the young guys to perform right away. At Spurs, experienced players were there and then we decided to move [them out] but the young guys were there working for a few months, four or five months to understand our way of working.
“Then, after a few months, players like Harry Kane started to play. Okay, that’s why it is different and difficult to compare.
“For sure, Chelsea is an exciting project and we are going to find a way to get results. Performances are good but what we are missing is translating that to a positive result.”
Pochettino claimed that he will endure being booed by Tottenham fans, but wanted to know that “we parted ways because I was sacked.”
Importantly, Pochettino made it obvious that his remarks were not intended to be critical of Tottenham. He also stated a continued close bond with his previous chairman, Daniel Levy, showing their mutual regard.
The approaching London derby holds enormous emotional weight for Pochettino, who is determined to lead the Blues to victory as Chelsea seeks a comeback.
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