Pochettino’s ‘worry’ about taking Chelsea job has already come true

Mauricio Pochettino has revealed he was worried about Chelsea’s injury record BEFORE he took the job. The Blues currently have a long list of absentees but the Argentine is refusing to use that as an excuse for his side’s poor start to the season.

Chelsea were rocked by the news this week that Ben Chilwell is set for a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. Pochettino has already been without club captain Reece James since he damaged his thigh on the opening day against Liverpool.

Summer signings Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia are yet to make their debuts, while Wesley Fofana is set to miss most of the campaign after injuring his anterior cruciate knee ligament. Trevoh Chalobah and Carney Chukwuemeka have also been missing in recent weeks, while Benoit Badiashile is not yet back from his long-term thigh problem.

It was an open secret that Pochettino had agreed to become the next Chelsea boss in the final few weeks of last season. He was officially announced on May 29 before starting in the role on July 1.

Injuries were an issue for former managers at Stamford Bridge and Pochettino has revealed he was well aware of that. He said: “It was something we were worried about before we arrived here.

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“We are working with the club to improve our infrastructure to give the players a better platform to work and avoid injury. We assessed before we arrived here.

“One of our jobs was to analyse and to see the risk because we knew about the injuries last season. We tried to think how to avoid them.

“That is why the infrastructure is improving, but to avoid risk we need time. It is about time, not to be fixed quickly. When you ask if it is a key factor in the results, I am not going to take it as an excuse but you can see and it is clear that it is a reality.”

Pochettino does not hold his breath during training sessions at the thought of losing another player. He admits he needs more players available but won’t put that down as an excuse for poor results.

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He added: “Not anxious but every single coach at every single club having your players fit is the most important thing. You have different possibilities and options, sometimes at the moment we are short in the options we have.

“We need to perform really well with the players we have fit but that is a thing I don’t like if I’m honest. No, I cannot put the excuse of injuries.

“I cannot blame injuries, it is not fair. I think we deserve more but for different reasons we didn’t score and were not clinical in front of goal.

“We need to improve. With your whole squad you improve the level of the team and put pressure on the players that play because there’s another next to you waiting for your place.”

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