Mauricio Pochettino’s first words as new Chelsea boss makes ‘greatest team in England’ statement

Mauricio Pochettino expressed his delight after taking the Chelsea job and is ready to build a winning culture with the players and staff.

The 51-year-old conducted his first interview with Chelsea‘s in-house media team after arriving at their Cobham training ground to begin work on Monday.

Pochettino, who has penned a two-year contract, with the option of a further 12 months, will start to meet his squad when they report back for pre-season this week ahead of their tour of the United States later this month.

He is relishing the opportunity and excited to bring back happiness and success to a club like Chelsea who are so used to winning.

What Mauricio Pochettino said

Speaking to Chelsea TV, Pochettino said: “Thank you very much. For me, it is a pleasure and honour to now be involved with Chelsea Football Club. We are so excited, and I know Chelsea very well, it is one of the greatest clubs in the world. So of course, it was easy for us to make the decision to move here. 

“We are so happy that today we can start here at Cobham in the training ground and meet the people and the staff. It is exciting for us and what we want is to bring the happiness again to this great football club. We will work hard, play in a way the fans can enjoy football, and the history of Chelsea is to win – but it is important also in the way we are going to build those victories.

“We are excited, so happy, and are very grateful to all the people. Of course, it starts with Todd (Boehly), Behdad (Eghbali), Jose (E. Feliciano), and after all the people really welcomed us today and a few days ago when we arrived for the first time at Cobham.”

He added: “I think it’s important and it’s a culture of winning. In the last 10, 12, 15 years, Chelsea is the greatest team in England. I know very well the Premier League and what the culture of Chelsea means. I think our fans are excited to again be on the road of trying to win.

“Of course, we are excited. We are excited to work with a very young team, with a different approach than in the past. But I think we all need to understand that we have to work really hard and create a very good atmosphere at the training ground to build success for the team in the next few years.”