Mauricio Pochettino has insisted that he is no position to demand patience at Chelsea, suggesting that his team must be ready to compete for the Premier League title at the beginning of the season.
The Argentine officially started work as Chelsea head coach on July 1, with the former Tottenham Hotspur boss tasked with improving the club's fortunes after a dismal 2022-23.
On the back of finishing in 12th position in the top flight and spending over £600m across two transfer windows, the Blues face a mammoth rebuilding job, one which has already begun with the exits of a number of established players.
In response, Chelsea have acquired the services of Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson, but Pochettino has acknowledged on more than one occasion that further fresh faces will arrive at the West Londoners.
The general consensus is that Chelsea face a transitional period before they can expect to challenge for a return to the top four in the Premier League table and compete with the likes of Manchester City in the future.
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After Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard all featured in the dugout last season, it was put to Pochettino at a press conference that he would be within reason to ask for time from owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
However, Pochettino instead claimed that he held the opposite opinion, demanding that his talented squad have the mindset of delivering from the opening weekend of the campaign against Liverpool.
Speaking to reporters, Pochettino said: "I know, in football, no patience. In football, it is difficult to wait, and then when you are here in Chelsea, it is not about asking for time. You need to deliver from day one.
"I think that is how we are working now in the training ground. It is about not giving the players too much time to think or wasting time. It is about delivery from now, to give our best, to put in the service of the team.
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"Football is about today, or yesterday. We cannot talk too much about long term. We cannot tell the people that we need six months to create something because that is not good. We need to create something with the belief in the beginning. and I think we are going to have the players and squad that can deliver this job, give what we expect, and from day one, we need to think about to win.
"If we win, then little by little we maybe more time to develop our idea. I think from the beginning that we need to think about the first game in the Premier League and be ready to beat Liverpool. That is the idea."
Chelsea have recently returned to training to commence their pre-season schedule, one which will largely be spent in the United States with five fixtures currently on their calendar.
After starting with an encounter versus Wrexham on July 19, Chelsea proceed to play Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United, Fulham and Borussia Dortmund.
Darren Plant
