Mauricio
Pochettino says he has faith in Chelsea's decision-makers and has promised
to target success in his first season at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea finished 12th in the Premier League last season following the
takeover by the Todd Boehly-led consortium as they spent more than £600m on
transfers.
But former Tottenham boss Pochettino, who did not mention his old club's
name in his first press conference, has been encouraged by the meetings he
has had with the owners and co-sporting directors, Laurence Stewart and Paul
Winstanley.
"They presented to me and we talked about many different circumstances, many
personal situations [of players]," said Pochettino, who started in his new
role on Monday.
"I trust them. I said, 'You know better than me, and after July 1, I will be
more involved'."
Reports had suggested Pochettino sought assurances he would have a say on
transfers during negotiations before taking the role as Chelsea head coach
after the chaotic first 12 months under the new owners.
"I feel good, I am not a coach that needs to ask for power, I don't put
things in my clause. The most important is to show them to put trust in me.
I need to convince them that they need to trust, that's the biggest power
you can have."
Chelsea are coming off the back of their worst season in the Premier League
era and have already parted ways with eight first-team players this summer,
but Pochettino does not want to use that as an excuse at the start of his
reign.
On his ambitions for next season, Pochettino added: "My target is to win -
if you're in a club like Chelsea, you can't talk about doing a nice job or
playing well."
Poch has spoken with in-demand Colwill
Levi Colwill is attracting interest from Liverpool and Brighton this summer
after impressing on loan at the Amex last season.
But Chelsea are adamant that he is not for sale and want to approach the
defender about signing a new deal.
However, Sky Sports News has been told Colwill, who is currently with
England's U21s at the Euros, wants to speak with Pochettino before he
considers discussing a new deal.
Asked if he had spoken to Colwill - and his international team-mate Noni
Madueke - about the role they will play next season, Pochettino said: "We
spoke yesterday."
Both players have helped England's U21s to the Euros final where they will
play Spain in Georgia on Saturday.
"For me it's difficult because it's Spain against England but I wish England
the best. I have spoken with them about next season.
"We are waiting for them to be with the team. I think the day we fly to
America, they will join us."
Will Lukaku return to Chelsea?
Pochettino says he expects Chelsea's forgotten striker Romelu Lukaku to
report back for pre-season next week.
Lukaku spent last season on loan at Inter Milan after he fell out of favour
at Chelsea following a controversial interview in which he said he was not
happy under former head coach Thomas Tuchel.
The £97.5m striker wants to remain in Italy, but it is unclear whether Inter
have enough funds to meet Chelsea's demands.
"He needs to come back July 12-13th to be part of the squad to start
pre-season. With all the players that arrive, the first thing they do is to
come to my office and say hello. That's what I expect if he's still a
Chelsea player."
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