Pochettino Sets the Record Straight on Chelsea Remarks

The Blues won a big game that improves their chances of making it to Europe.

Mauricio Pochettino talked about his future at Chelsea after their comeback win against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

He’s the coach from Argentina who has turned Chelsea’s luck around, especially with their 3-2 win at the City Ground.

Reece James, the team captain, came back from a long injury break and helped turn things around by assisting Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson’s goals. Wily Boly and Callum Hudson-Odoi had put Nuno Espirito Santo’s side ahead earlier.

When asked about his future, Pochettino cleared up what he said before the game.

“I didn’t say I’m unhappy. I didn’t say that,” Pochettino said. “I said maybe I’m not, maybe I am.

“But it’s normal for headlines to twist things. Sometimes I’m too honest when I talk, but it’s okay. I still have a year left on my contract. Like I said yesterday, I’m thinking long term, maybe even for life here.

“We’re professionals, we try to win games. We try to keep the owners and the staff happy. I’m responsible for everyone at our training ground in Cobham.

“I try to keep the players and the fans happy. That’s my job. Easy, right?” [laughs]

James came back on the field in the 79th minute and made a big impact, helping to score the equalizer and then setting up the winning goal in the 82nd minute.

Pochettino was amazed by James’s comeback, saying: “It’s huge. Unfortunately, there are only two games left, and it’s just one week. It’s important for him to recover and feel good again. He’s such an important player for us.

“He’s our captain. We all love him. Yes, his return is crucial, and we hope he’ll be fit for the Euros.”

He also talked about how important substitutes are: “You always need talented players coming off the bench to make a big difference, like what happened today. We were a bit lucky to win the game.

“I’m happy because the most important thing is to always believe and never give up. The team showed they can fight till the end, and that makes me very pleased. Sometimes you can’t play as well as we did against West Ham and Tottenham.

“In these kinds of games, you need to be more mature and play a different style of football. That’s important if you want to climb up the league table.