Manager Mauricio Pochettino is tired of constant talk of Chelsea's £1billion spending and remains convinced his underdog players will develop into a “great team”.
Blues boss Pochettino has overseen an underwhelming season since taking over at Stamford Bridge last summer, but his expensively assembled side lost to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday. This led to further criticism.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville dubbed them “a job in a blue billion pound bottle” late in extra-time, losing 1-0 to a side who had lost many of their star players to injury.
Former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain manager Pochettino is confident he can retain the support of Chelsea co-owners Todd Boley and Behada Egbali, and is confident he will continue to support the club in the post-Abramovich era at Roma. is adamant that its expensive, long-term project is destined to succeed.
“This issue is very annoying because after eight months it's always about a billion,” Pochettino said ahead of Wednesday's FA Cup fifth-round tie at home to Leeds.
“I feel like that’s a little unfair.
“The new owners arrived with the right intentions and want to create something different from the past.
“For me, the players have great quality and all we need is time.
“That's no excuse for me, because whether I'm here or not isn't up to me, it's up to my job, and I think we're doing a great job.
“We probably won't have great results. But I think we'll be a great team over time because we're young, we're learning, and we'll build things that will start to show on the practice field.”
Chelsea are 11th in the Premier League, 17 points behind the top four and 15 points above the relegation zone.
European qualification is already looking like a big challenge, but the big-money Blues need to beat the second-placed side in the Sky Bet Championship to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals and keep their hopes of winning silver this season alive. There is a need.
“People who have been here for a long time say it's starting to feel like the club is different,'' Pochettino said.
“But unfortunately, we can't build relationships in points. This kind of process always takes time.”
Asked if he expected the club's owners to continue to be patient with him, Pochettino replied: “Yes. I'm confident until someone tells me something.
“I feel the support from them. When I got to the venue (to receive my runner-up medal at Wembley) I was so upset I almost cried.
“And then Todd sent me a really, really nice email and then I met Behdad and he was just a really, really nice guy.
“Our responsibility is to meet expectations, which is easier when expectations and reality are close.
“We need to communicate to our employees that they need to trust and be patient because we are building a different way to succeed.”
Pochettino feels encouraged by his players' reaction to the weekend's disappointment and will be motivated to prove their point against Leeds.
“The pressure is always to win and get through,” he said.
“It’s a huge achievement to reach England’s first final of the season, but it’s tough after not winning the title.
“It's going to be a tough game from now on. We need to be strong and have good energy and the players want to show that we can be good for the club.”
