Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has bitten back at supporters disappointed with results, arguing that results from their £1bn project might not come for another "three years".
With the youngest squad in the Premier League by design, Chelsea are hoping their promising talents will develop into the world's best over the next few years. That doesn't mean Pochettino isn't at risk of losing his job, though, with the Argentine having faced intense pressure over the last few days following a 4-2 home defeat to Wolves on Sunday.
Despite that result leaving them 11th in the Premier League, Pochettino highlighted his commitment to the club and project under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital after beating Aston Villa 3-1 in their FA Cup fourth round replay on Wednesday night.
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"I want to be here, because I really believe in the project and I really believe in the players," Pochettino said.
He did come out fighting as well, though, suggesting that supporters might have to contend with some more dark days as his young squad gains invaluable experience over the next few seasons.
"We need to stop this thing that we are Chelsea from 20 years ago. We are not this type of Chelsea any more. Now we need to move on and we need to create this project. We need to move on, I don’t care if people are happy or not happy with my speech. I care for the club, I care for my players, I want to help the players.
“We are going to fight, I don’t care what the people say. I’m not more sad or happy today after a win because we have experience, this type of project needs time and trust. We cannot build a team to challenge because you need to fix too many things, you need to observe, analyse and compete.
“We are building a project which may be one year, two years, three years. Today you can see we were ready to fight. We fight for the fans, the badge, the coaching staff. Now the challenge is to be consistent.”
Success might come sooner than Pochettino expects, though, as Chelsea prepare to play Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final at the end of February. While the Reds beat them 4-1 at Anfield a week ago, victory at Wembley could have a major effect on the project Chelsea are currently hoping brings them plenty of success in years to come.
But first, the Blues face trips to Crystal Palace and Manchester City in the Premier League.
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