Pochettino on Striking a Balance between Short-term and Long-term Aspirations | Official Site News –

There was one final incoming transfer before the window closed until January, as Cole Palmer arrived on deadline day to join Chelsea from Manchester City, completing the make-up of Mauricio Pochettino’s squad for 2023/24.

The England Under-21 international joined a number of other summer signings in his first training session with the Blues yesterday, leaving Pochettino pleased by the added certainty around the players he will be working with now there will be no further changes.

However, he did insist he had no complaints about any disruptions the comings and goings may have caused over the summer, as he knew it would be the case right from the day he walked through the doors at Cobham for the first time himself, meaning he was prepared and able to manage the situation.

‘We need to accept that,’ said Pochettino. ‘When the owners and the sporting directors explained the project we agreed. They explained the project, we agreed, we keep going working and of course trying to help the project.

‘We knew that there were going to be players coming in and players going out, it was going to be difficult to change the squad in the way that they wanted to change. We offer our support and we work really hard on the training ground to try to minimise the impact of the players that arrive with no training, injured or were not competing in the last few weeks. Young players that need to know the Premier League coming from playing outside of England. Many things that we are focused on working to minimise the negative impact.’

Now the recruitment work is completed, Pochettino’s work at our Cobham training ground begins in earnest, with the next step of shaping the young squad we have assembled into a team which will serve the club well for years to come.

However, the clear focus on the future in this squad does not mean the short-term demands he will place on the team are in any way reduced.

‘We need to work and still be improving in the next few years. We need to win every week. What is missing is to have all the players fit and for that we are going to work. I am so happy because I think the project that they showed me, the club is working really hard to transform to a different way of operating.

‘We need to be careful because we have an amazing project here, a young squad, young talented players but now we need to find a way to perform. We are spending but we are building something for the future also, not just for the present.

‘We need to win because football is about winning. We are investing for the present and for the future. We need to work really hard but at the same time we need to win now.’

The overwhelming feeling for Pochettino, though, is one of excitement about what this team can become in the future, and the prospect of managing them, but he knows full well that success in the short term will be essential for his own chance of being part of the project’s long-term fruition.

‘My success is going to be if we win today, not tomorrow, in one year or two years. I’m not going to use the excuse that we need to build something for the future. I don’t want to give excuses to the players or the fans, I want to win.

‘If we don’t win I know what is going to happen. That is the reality. You can sign the players, then you need to create the environment and create the dynamic that is going to get you close to winning.

‘It’s about the plan. The problem is we invest today but maybe we will be rewarded in a few years. I need to be sure that I am here! All the sacrifice and effort today, I want to be here when the good things happen for the club.

‘The talented players that we have is amazing, it’s only a matter of time before they start to perform and when they are doing their best for sure we will have an amazing team. Now it’s tough and now it’s difficult, we are working really hard, but it’s exciting also.

‘We are so happy to be involved in the start of this project. It’s the start of a new era here working in a different way. We need to not be confused about that. We are spending money but it’s not a guarantee to get results so quick. It’s always a process.’

That process has of course already begun over the summer and pre-season under Pochettino, but with the English transfer window now closed, the next step towards fulfilling that exciting potential begins this afternoon when we host Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge. As they say, the future starts today.