Mauricio Pochettino's Press Conference: Navigating Challenges, Building for the Future.

 Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea's head coach, recently addressed the media in a pre-Everton press conference, offering insights into the team's current status, challenges faced, and his vision for the future. Here's a comprehensive breakdown of his key statements:

Evaluating the Squad's Fitness:

Pochettino began by discussing the fitness of key players, notably Christopher Nkunku and Malo Gusto. He acknowledged the day-by-day assessment and expressed uncertainty about their involvement in the upcoming game against Everton. This uncertainty highlights the challenging circumstances the team is navigating.

Mauricio Pochettino: Still assessing [Christopher Nkunku] day by day, see tomorrow. I don't believe that he will be involved but we need to assess day by day. We see also Malo Gusto but apart from that no."

Progress Amid Difficult Circumstances:

The Argentine coach emphasized the need for a measured assessment of progress, considering the challenging circumstances. Pochettino emphasized the day-by-day, game-by-game approach, acknowledging recent performance drops. He acknowledged the importance of understanding the club and the squad better, insisting on the need for a balanced perspective.

Mauricio Pochettino: "It's not fair to talk too much about progress because the circumstances are difficult. We go day by day, game by game. But we need to win and do our job. But progress is [also] about knowing the club better, the squad. Every single players knows what we expect. We are not getting want we want [results], we deserve much more. But the last few weeks we drop in our performance, I am fair in assessment. We need to get the good way to start to perform better again. After Brighton it was completely different the feelings. We cannot go from zero to 100, to 100 to zero. We need to see the reality that sometimes we struggle. When we don't have the possibilities to use all the elements of the squad, not only us. Many positives, it's about to try to keep going and being calm. Not too much when we win and not too down when we lose. Balance is important."

The Long-Term Process:

Pochettino emphasized that progress is a gradual process, requiring time, luck, and sustained efforts. He pointed out the importance of keeping players fit and increasing competition within the squad. Despite recent struggles, he expressed confidence in finding momentum over time.

Mauricio Pochettino: "It's a process that always takes time. We know what we want. You need some luck, to keep the players fit, to increase the competition. With time we'll find this momentum. At the moment, we need to stay calm, keep pushing because we're so close..."

Facing Everton's Challenge:

Looking ahead to the Everton match, Pochettino anticipated a tough game against a team that, despite a points deduction, had a fantastic season. He acknowledged Everton's sense of unfair treatment and commended manager Sean for doing a great job. The focus was on being ready to compete, aiming for a better performance than the previous game against Manchester United.

Mauricio Pochettino on Everton: "It's going to be really tough. They were having a fantastic season until that happened [the points deduction]. The feeling they have is that they were treated unfairly. They have good players and Sean is doing a great job. The most important is to be ready to compete, better than last game [vs Man United]."

Managing Injuries and Setbacks:

Acknowledging the challenges posed by injuries, Pochettino emphasized the need for calmness in optimizing the available players. He accepted the reality of the recent defeat against Manchester United and stressed the importance of focusing on the future challenges.

Mauricio Pochettino: "We are trying to optimise the players we have [available]. We need to be calm. When you are suffering these types of things [injuries] we need to be calm."

Mauricio Pochettino on Man Utd defeat: "We cannot complain. That happened. We have to accept the reality."

Balancing the Team:

Discussing the inconsistency in the team's performance, Pochettino highlighted the multifaceted nature of the challenge. Balancing the team and finding consistency across various aspects are ongoing tasks that the coaching staff is addressing.

Mauricio Pochettino: "It's not only one thing that you need to work. That's the conversation of the squad. It's every single game we need to find the good balance. That inconsistency came from different parts of the team. That's the challenge to settle..."

Challenging for the Top Four:

Pochettino maintained that while the current position might not be ideal, the team's goal is to challenge for a top-four spot. He acknowledged the toughness of the journey but expressed optimism about the future, hoping to achieve success sooner rather than later.

Mauricio Pochettino: "No, no [job not harder than I thought]. Better position we should be in? For sure. We knew when we accepted that it would be tough. We are going to challenge [top four]. Maybe not now, but in the future. Who knows [when]? Hopefully as soon as possible..."

Building a Dynamic Team:

The head coach emphasized the difficulty of creating a dynamic team with diverse player profiles. Despite the challenges, he spoke about the talented players at the club and the ongoing efforts to build a solid platform for success.

Mauricio Pochettino: "It's about to work. It's about to put all in context to create a dynamic with all the different profiles to create a team. That's the most difficult challenge ahead. We have talented players. We need to create a platform..."

Developing Young Players:

Pochettino expressed satisfaction with the improvement of young players, emphasizing the importance of providing a comfortable environment for them to thrive. He spoke about the need for confidence and stated that the team is in the process of building something that will pay off in the future.

Mauricio Pochettino: "The most important now for the young players, they are all improving, they know exactly what we expect. I don't want to repeat. We talk about young players, they need to be in a place they feel comfortable, the confidence to perform in a place like Chelsea. We know what to do. A matter of time - maybe that's a year, six months. I think we're building something that will pay off..."

Fan Reaction:

Addressing the boos from fans after the Manchester United defeat, Pochettino acknowledged the fans' right to express their opinions. He accepted criticism when the team doesn't perform well, emphasizing the need for the team to respond positively.

In conclusion, Mauricio Pochettino's press conference offered a candid and insightful look into the challenges faced by Chelsea, emphasizing the importance of a patient, measured approach to overcome obstacles and build a successful future for the club.

Mauricio Pochettino: "We cannot say nothing to the fans [after boos post-Man United defeat], they react how they feel. We cannot blame them. We need to accept if we are not playing well we are criticised by them. We need to accept that."

Mauricio Pochettino on Levi Colwill captaining Chelsea vs Man United: "He loves the club, he came from the club and in 4-5 months everyone respects him. He has the profile to be captain. We are building something for today but for the future also. He's a potentially massive player for the future. My decision is about giving responsibility and a chance to learn. For him it's a massive test, to be responsible for the team.

"If we want young kids to become men and become great players, we need to trust them. I trust him because of his personality and character. Even if he doesn’t get the armband again this season because we have Reece, Ben Chilwell and Conor Gallagher, he has the profile. From what I can see, he is going to be the future of the club.”

Mauricio Pochettino: "We need to be more aggressive and try to avoid conceding chances like corners or wide free-kicks. We need to be clever in the way we are going to work and try to stop them. We need to improve. Conceding in this way, maybe I am not showing too much emotion, but I'm really upset. We need to work much, much better in these situations. It's both organisation and desire. For me, we need to stop the crosses..."

Poch on defending crossing concerns: "“Is size important? Yes of course when you create a team and build a team, yes you need to, in the Premier League, pay attention to this [the size of players]. It’s not that we will defend better if we have taller players, but I think the balance is important” 

“It is unbelievable. During the last week we were working on this type of situation. I think two things are important to know. We didn’t put pressure on the crosser. Then with the quality of the Premier League that we all have, if the ball is there it is difficult to stop.”

Mauricio Pochettino: "Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo are young. The expectation is massive when you arrive. It's not only the individual expectation but the collective expectation at a club like Chelsea. It is not easy."

"When you arrive in a team in a building process and you’re young with not too much experience, even if you have good quality and people can see the club paid big money and only for that you need to perform. Some people think in this way because they don’t know about football. It’s going to be a process. The moment is going to arrive that they are going to know better and to create this relationship that will help the team win games."

"I think the priority for Reece James now is to build his confidence and fitness and work towards completing 90 minutes. Of course, we are competing and want to win, but what’s best for him is time and giving him game time."

"Reece James is doing really well, I'm pleased with him. You need to remember for any captain who's not playing because he is not fit or another problem, it's difficult to feel involved. He's doing a fantastic job and I'm so happy with him."

"It’s going to be a process because for different reasons Chelsea are in the reality in the last years a completely different reality and we need to attack this. We can’t live only thinking in the past. We need to keep the culture and understand we are in Chelsea and always it’s about winning but the reality is completely different"