Todd Boehly splashed £1BN and sacked two bosses… but Mauricio Pochettino urges frustrated fans to ‘trust the process’
MAURICIO POCHETTINO says Chelsea must learn from their mistakes as he battles to build a squad capable of competing at the highest level.
And the head coach does not want “blame” or “division” at the club right now.
Chelsea, who face Blackburn in the Carabao Cup, have spent more than £1billion on players since new chairman Todd Boehly took over last year.
Boss Pochettino is determined to shape a team to win the Premier League but the Blues have been accused of paying over the odds and wasting money.
Chelsea were also forced to ditch a large number of stars in the summer to comply with Financial Fair Play spending rules.
Eyebrows were raised when they splashed £35million on Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly and up to £62m on Marc Cucurella.
Left-back Cucurella is steadily improving but Koulibaly has already gone and is now with Saudi side Al-Hilal. Boehly has also sacked two bosses in Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.
Pochettino said: “The important thing is to trust the ideas, the judgment and analysis of why certain things have not happened.
“To help the organisation to be better and to improve and not to make the same mistakes again.
“The most important thing is to learn from the mistakes.
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“When things go against you, you have to try to resist them and try to survive. You have to be quiet and be strong.
“And not to lose your balance, because it is easy to blame or say something that is going to affect other people and lead to division in the club.”
Boehly has also had to unravel the mess he inherited, with one-time club record signing Romelu Lukaku, who cost £97.5m but is now on his second loan in Italy.
Pochettino is struggling with a lengthy injury list, too, with defender Wesley Fofana out for the season following knee surgery and highly-rated forward Christopher Nkunku sidelined until December.
At least captain Reece James returns in the fourth-round tie at home to Championship Blackburn, his first start since the opening game of the season against Liverpool on August 13.
Pochettino said: “Those are the circumstances that we are living in now and we need to be responsible about that and be strong in our judgments, because it is us that are going to be judged.”