Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino issues warning to owners

London [UK], July 8 : Chelsea's latest head coach Mauricio Pochettino issued a subtle warning to the Chelsea owners regarding Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali on Saturday.

Pochettino cleared his stance on the decisions regarding the squad by clarifying that it is the manager who takes the calls on the footballing matters rather than the owners themselves.

"Always they need to communicate [with] myself - I need to know and to prepare. The head coach or the manager is who decides the thing, how it's going to work, no? In the dressing room, on the pitch, on the training ground ... also with the sporting director, all together, to create the line," Pochettino said in his first pre-match conference as quoted by Goal.com.

Pochettino further went on to reflect on the challenge that lies ahead of him as the 2023/24 season approaches. Last season the Blues finished in the 12th position with 44 points.

Chelsea went through three managerial changes in a single season which hindered their overall success. Pochettino's main focus would be to restore their dominance in the Premier League once again.

He reflected on the task and said, "For me, being at Chelsea is a big challenge that I wanted to feel. To have that adrenaline and to be fighting for big things in every game. This football club, because of the history, the ambition is to always win trophies. I want to prove that I can deal with that."

"Right now, we need to be competitive at the training ground. That is where things start. If we are not competitive there, we are not going to arrive where we need to be. I don't want to give excuses for the players by saying we need time to rebuild and time to work. There are no excuses. We have to work hard to manage and drive [the players] forward in the way that we want. The competition doesn't wait for anyone and we have to be ready, that much is clear," he signed off.

Pochettino's side will travel to the USA this month for their pre-season tour where they will face teams like Wrexham, Brighton, Newcastle United, Fulham and Borussia Dortmund.