Pochettino says he will not quit as Chelsea head coach

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Mauricio Pochettino insists he will not quit as Chelsea head coach and says no manager could make the club in its current state as successful as it was in the past.

Pochettino took charge last July but is already under pressure due to Chelsea sitting in 11th position.

The club’s supporters chanted for the Argentine to be sacked during the 2-2 draw at Brentford last weekend and sang the name of former boss Jose Mourinho, who won seven major trophies in two spells (2004-7, 2013-15).

Pochettino has one year left on his current deal (with the option of another 12 months) and when asked if he would ever think of resigning, he replied: “Ah no, no, no! Why? Never!

“We love a challenge. The challenge is massive and I come here to accept the project and challenge, knowing it is never easy with the pressure and the feeling that you are Chelsea and you need to win.”

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Chelsea won 19 major trophies in as many years under former owner Roman Abramovich, whose name is also sung regularly at matches.

But the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium, which bought the club in 2022, is running things in a different way to its predecessor. They have spent more than £1billion ($1.3bn) on young players with potential rather than the finished article and it was always going to take more time to get consistent results.

Pochettino understands why supporters are frustrated and he is getting heavily criticised in the media but urged people to stop making comparisons with what Chelsea were like before.

He added: “It is a different project, today is a different Chelsea. My mistake is to accept to come here if you say (otherwise) to me. Because if you are going to judge us and analyse the situation compared to the past of Chelsea, hey, for sure no-one is going to win, no-one is going to succeed, no-one is going to be nice with you.

“I see the fans are not going to love another coach because if you compare with the past when you are in a different project…people need to understand. I try to explain but okay, if I talk and I move my mouth but you don’t hear anything….that is the point.”

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(Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)