Mauricio Pochettino insists Chelsea fans should not judge him on the amount of silverware he wins at the opening stages of his Stamford Bridge reign.
Pochettino has been under fire from supporters angry at their team’s disappointing first season with the Argentine in charge.
Chelsea are languishing in 10th place in the Premier League, 25 points behind leaders Liverpool who they face in the League Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.
Pochettino hopes to deliver Chelsea’s first trophy since co-owner Todd Boehly bought the club from Roman Abramovich in May 2022.
He is also aiming to win silverware for the first time in England, having been a League Cup runner-up in 2015 while in charge of Tottenham.
But Pochettino is adamant trophies alone should not determine the success of his work at Chelsea, who have spent over £1 billion ($1.26 billion) on new signings in the Boehly era.
Pointing to Jurgen Klopp’s gradual improvements at Liverpool before winning six major trophies so far in his nine-year reign, Pochettino said: “Klopp was good before he arrived at Liverpool. He had three or four years that he didn’t win. Now he’s won the Champions League and the Premier League.
“I don’t judge a coach or coaching staff for winning titles. It’s about being competitive and winning, but there are too many factors that influence.
“If you have good players, you should be close to winning. Maybe everyone will say you’re the best coach in the world. But everyone knows it’s not like this.
“The thing is to be in the right moment, in the right club that trusts in you with the tools and the possibility to win.
“Some fans will say you’re not good because you didn’t win. For me, it’s not the way to judge a coaching staff.”
After a wretched run, Chelsea have got back on track with consecutive 3-1 wins against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace followed by a 1-1 draw at champions Manchester City.
Prior to that, the team were booed off by supporters at the end of their most recent home fixture, a 4-2 loss to Wolves at Stamford Bridge, days after they were thrashed 4-1 at Liverpool.
Pochettino believes that, regardless of Sunday’s result, he will still be held in high esteem in England.
“We want to win because we are very competitive. We want to win because of the people that trust in us, like the owners, the sporting directors, the fans,” he said.
“After 11 years here, we feel the respect. That is the most important thing.”
