It is the job of any football manager, or actually any prominent leader of an important organization for that matter, to show belief. To express confidence in the idea that their team is moving in the right direction. Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino is doing just that; and more!
After the last game before the current internationals, a 4-1 thrashing of Burnley, Pochettino said that his side is “building something” now.
? Mauricio Pochettino: “It’s matter of time and in the end we will succeed together. I’m sure”.
“We just need to be calm in the way we judge players and the team. I think we are growing and very good things are coming. You can feel that”. pic.twitter.com/PMjl18XgCt
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 12, 2023
He followed that up with even more optimism and positivity today.
“It’s always about building a team,” Pochettino said to the club’s in-house media.
“It’s a young squad, a team that still need to to know each other. Only with time and training can we provide the team with what it needs. It’s why it is only a matter of time, no doubt.”
Chelsea headed into the international break winners of their past three, across all competitions, outscoring their opponents on aggregate 6-2. Prior to that run they had fallen all the way down to 14th in the table, which was, naturally demoralizing to the fan base.
That’s very understandable, given how they finished 12th last season, which was their worst finish since the early 1990s!
The Blues have an enormous fan base, all over the world, and they are starved for success right now.
Pochettino is trying to assure them that good times will soon be here again.
We need to be calm in the way we judge players and the team,” Poch continued.
“I think we are growing and very good things are coming. You can feel that, even if sometimes we have some ups and downs. But, in the end, we will succeed together, for sure.”
Pochettino claims that it is only a matter of time before the hard work pays off, and the results show up more consistently. Having broken the world’s all-time transfer spending record, for both the summer and winter windows this year, they really need to see some major return on investment.
Up next is a London derby clash against second place Arsenal on Oct 21st. So that should be a good test for Pochettino and Chelsea.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.