Transition no excuse for Chelsea, says Mauricio Pochettino
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Mauricio Pochettino will take charge of his first competitive game for Chelsea when the Blues host Liverpool on Sunday.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has said that he will make no excuses if his side fail to perform at their best in their English Premier League opener at home against Liverpool on Sunday, even though they are in the midst of a major overhaul.
The Blues appointed the former Tottenham Hotspur boss at the end of May
In a bid to trim a bloated squad, the club have since unloaded more than 15 players – including former captain Cesar Azpilicueta, Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Kalidou Koulibaly – while bringing in six.
“We are more in transition than Liverpool because I am new here. (Jurgen) Klopp has been at Liverpool for seven years,” Pochettino said on Friday.
“But of course, we are Chelsea. The history of the club is to win. Even if we are in transition, we need to win and be ready to win against Liverpool.
“The mentality for the players is to compete and try to win. I’m not going to accept a different way to think. We want to put the club where the club deserves to be.”
Sunday’s clash will have added spice, given that the two teams are locked in a transfer battle over Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo for a deal worth over £110 million (S$189 million) – a British record.
The Blues, who are in the process of a new bid, are in the driver’s seat after the Ecuadorian reportedly said that he wants to join only Chelsea and not Liverpool.
Pochettino declined to comment on that transfer saga, saying: “We are working very hard to add players of quality to the squad.
“At the moment, I don’t want to talk about players who don’t belong to us. We are working very hard, I am so happy with how we are doing things.
“It’s obvious when you look at the squad and when you compare it to last season, too many midfielders have left. We are trying hard, but being respectful.”
The Argentinian added that Chelsea are looking for a replacement for attacker Christopher Nkunku, who is set to be sidelined for an extended period after undergoing surgery for a knee injury he picked up during a pre-season friendly.
“We feel very sorry about him. He was doing well, he is very important for us,” he said. “Now it’s about not thinking too much about the injuries and to be positive about when he can be back. We are working in the market, trying to find a solution, maybe short term, medium and long term to add the right profile for the team.”
Liverpool have also been rebuilding their midfield, signing Argentina World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister and Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai.
“We have a new start with this Liverpool FC reloaded – it’s an exciting thing,” said Reds boss Klopp, who did not provide an injury update ahead of the game.
“People wanted changes because we’d been together for a long time.
“(What makes me positive) are the sessions I saw. The desire, the concentration, the readiness, the openness. Just that I saw a lot of things where my thought in that moment was, ‘OK, they mean business, so let’s give it a go’.”
Despite Caicedo dominating the headlines, Klopp stressed that the issue would not overshadow their game against Chelsea, adding that he expected the Blues to be dangerous opponents under their new boss.
“Pochettino is a very good manager. You can see Pochettino’s play already in that team. We know what he does from Tottenham and you can see similarities,” he said. REUTERS, AFP
