Mauricio
Pochettino says the expectation on his Chelsea team is "different from the
reality" and has called for "patience" among the club's supporters after a
difficult week.
Chelsea were beaten 4-1 by Liverpool on Wednesday night, then were humbled
4-2 by Wolves on Sunday as the pressure ramped up on Pochettino, who has
guided his side to 11th place so far in the Premier League.
Pochettino's side were booed off at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon and
the Argentine head coach says the "patience has never arrived" since he
joined the club in the summer.
"I am a head coach, a head coach. Sometimes we can make mistakes. That is
football. That happens, we need to keep moving and being strong," he said in
a press conference ahead of Wednesday's FA Cup fourth-round replay at Aston
Villa.
"We have a very good group of players, but for different reasons, as we have
explained from the beginning of the season, we are not performing in the way
that the people expect.
"And when the expectation is different from the reality, it's difficult to
get what you deserve. That's why the patience has never arrived."
Pochettino also feels criticism of his side over the last few days has been
unfair, highlighting a lack of noise when Liverpool lost to Arsenal on
Sunday. Chelsea are 20 points behind the table-topping Reds in the Premier
League.
"When we lost to Liverpool, it was: massive fail, oh look at Chelsea, how
bad it is. [When] Liverpool lost to Arsenal, I didn't hear anything. But it
was a similar result to when we played against Liverpool," Pochettino said.
"That is affecting the players, because this team needs confidence. We need
the support and our fans need to be behind Chelsea. The people need to
realise that situation. We cannot send any different messages."
The Chelsea head coach has called for more time this season to "build a
team" - and hinted that his team's issues go further than just on-pitch
matters.
"We are demanding the support to the team, the players, I know the quality,"
he added. "We know the quality of the players. The only problem is: it takes
time to build a team. That is the reality, the fans need to be patient.
"We need to find a way to succeed, do many things we need to fix before we
talk about tactics and football. We are trying to fix all the things, as
soon as possible we are going to perform and be in the position that the
club deserves."
Poch: My relationship with Silva is good
after wife's tweet
Pochettino also addressed the media about the tweet released on X from
Thiago Silva's wife, stating that the Blues boss should be axed by the club,
in the wake of Sunday's loss to Wolves.
Responding to the tweet, Potchettino replied: "He [Silva] came to me today
to talk about. I don't want to talk about it about the ways it's being
talked about.
"He came and wanted to talk to me. After more than 10 years, you know me and
my coaching staff are strong.
"We know how to operate when things like these happen. Thiago came to talk
and we talked. The matter is private and that's it. It stays with me.
"It's good, it's very good [our relationship]. I think it's successful and
always has been since the beginning. In my press conferences and you can see
that by the way I talk about him."
After a poor run of form and Chelsea's history of managerial dismissals,
there has been a lot of speculation surrounding the owners' support for the
Blues head coach.
However, Pochettino insists his relationship with the hierarchy at the club
is as positive as it could be.
"I've had a few texts from them, but I think we are all together in this and
that's the most important thing. They're in contact with me and the sporting
director," said the former Tottenham boss.
"For different reasons we are just not performing on the pitch. The most
important thing in football is to trust and we need to find the trust
amongst the coaching staff and players, because they need to perform on the
pitch."
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