Premier League: Pochettino says pressure at Chelsea is ‘massive’ but future bright

The Blues failed to build on last week’s 3-2 victory over Brighton, falling to Scott McTominay’s second-half header in a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino after a Premier League match. | Photo Credit: Dylan Martinez/REUTERS

Mauricio Pochettino admitted the pressure on Chelsea to perform is “massive” after another setback against Manchester United in midweek but insisted he was “building something that will pay off”.

The Blues failed to build on last week’s 3-2 victory over Brighton, falling to Scott McTominay’s second-half header in a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

But the Chelsea boss belives that success for the big-spending London club is only a matter of time.

“We cannot forget that we are at Chelsea and the pressure is massive,” he said. “It is about to win and when we don’t win, we feel the pressure.

“That is why we know what we need to do and it’s a matter of time. Sometimes it’s six months and sometimes it’s a year, but we need to analyse the situation.

“We are building something that will pay off. We knew when we accepted this offer that it was going to be tough.”

Chelsea is 10th in the table and has made little concrete progress since last season’s bottom-half finish.

But Pochettino remains hopeful that his young team will eventually challenge for the top four.

“We are going to challenge (for the top four),” he said. “Maybe not now, but for sure in the future. Who knows, we hope as soon as possible, but for sure we are going to challenge.”

Sunday’s opponents, Everton, has won three out of its past four games after its 3-0 victory over Newcastle on Thursday.

Pochettino, who has only lost to Sean Dyche once in his career, is expecting a tough challenge.

“He is aggressive, he’s brave and I think we are going to find a team who will press high and build from the back and be direct,” said the Argentine. “It’s going to be interesting because it will be a massive challenge for us.

“We need to match the energy because they are a team who brings great energy.”

Everton was deducted 10 points for breaching Premier League financial rules last month but is now out of the relgation zone.

Pochettino thinks the ruling was unfair and believes it has galvanised fans at Goodison Park.

“In adversity you can build something special,” he said. “When something like this happens it will unify everyone and make them feel part of the unfair decision.

“We are going to find a tough atmosphere and if we want to perform in the Premier League we have to deal with this.”