Pochettino: 'This is not the Chelsea of 20 years ago'

Coach Mauricio Pochettino wants Chelsea fans to forget the trophy-laden past under Roman Abramovich and look to the future with a new project.

"We need to stop thinking that this is the Chelsea of 20 years ago. This is not the Chelsea of today," Pochettino said after Chelsea's 3-1 win over Aston Villa in the fourth round of the FA Cup. "Now we need to continue with this project. I don't care if people are happy or not happy with these statements. I care about the club, the players and I want to help them."

Coach Mauricio Pochettino during Chelsea's 2-4 loss to Wolves at Stamford Bridge on February 4, 2024. Photo: AP

Chelsea have enjoyed unprecedented success since being bought by Abramovich for £140 million (nearly $190 million) in 2003. Since then, the Russian billionaire has pumped in around $2 billion in investment, strengthening the squad to help Chelsea rise to the position of a power in the Premier League and Europe. During his era, the team has won five Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, two Europa Leagues, five FA Cups, one European Super Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup.

In the summer of 2022, the alliance led by billionaire Todd Boehly completed the takeover of Chelsea for $5.2 billion, thereby ending the Abramovich era. Over the past year, "The Blues" have spent more than 1 billion pounds on the transfer market, but have still declined rapidly, firing their coach twice. Last season, Chelsea finished 12th in the Premier League, were eliminated in the third round of the FA Cup, the League Cup and the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

This season, under Pochettino, Chelsea have shown no signs of improvement in the Premier League, currently sitting 11th with 31 points. But they still have a chance to win the title when they face Liverpool in the League Cup final at Wembley on February 25, then face Leeds in the fifth round of the FA Cup on February 28.

"We will fight, I don't care what people say," Pochettino continued. "This kind of project takes time and trust. We can't build a team to compete for titles right away because there are so many things to fix. You need to observe, analyse and compete. We are building a project that can last one, two or three years."

In the FA Cup fourth round replay at Villa Park on February 7, Chelsea beat Aston Villa 3-1 thanks to goals from Conor Gallagher, Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez. Pochettino was proud of the team's fighting spirit and considered this the best performance of the season. "Today, you could see we were ready to fight. The whole team for the fans, for the club, for the coaching staff. Now the challenge is to maintain consistency," said the Argentine coach.

Hong Duy

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