Thomas Tuchel admits he is “totally aware” but not scared of Chelsea’s ruthless streak when it comes to sacking managers.
German boss Tuchel has become the 15th manager of the Roman Abramovich era, overseeing his first match in Wednesday’s goalless Premier League draw with Wolves.
The 47-year-old revealed he received a good luck message from Frank Lampard, the man he has replaced at the Stamford Bridge helm.
Hoping the Chelsea fans will unite behind his tenure now, Tuchel conceded he knows full well that demanding owner Abramovich does not tolerate failure.
Asked if he was concerned about Chelsea’s reputation for sacking managers, Tuchel said: “Yes and no, but I’m absolutely grateful I can work on this level.
“If you sign for Chelsea you sign for the hunger of titles, you sign for being absolutely competitive in every competition you play. I’m totally aware of that.
“It is like you said, but it does not scare me, we have big ambitions and me myself I have the biggest ambitions.
“I’m very excited about the mixture of the team, I’m very excited about the structure of the club and the first days were amazing.
“And I’m absolutely aware that at some point everybody expects results, but, honestly, I’m doing that of myself.”
Chelsea’s all-time record goal-scorer, Lampard’s status as a Stamford Bridge cult hero had no bearing in his managerial reign.
The 42-year-old wound up with just 18 months at the helm, and was sacked less than six months after overseeing a £220million squad overhaul last summer.
Tuchel paid tribute to Lampard and expressed his hope that the club’s fan base would throw their support behind him now he is at the tiller.
Training session #2 for Thomas! 👌 pic.twitter.com/8oe4v1BwGJ— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 28, 2021
“A fan backlash? I don’t know, I hope not because that would be hard on the team,” said Tuchel.
“Because we need our supporters, like any team, and in a stadium like ours, like Chelsea, to have the fans so close and so close behind the team makes absolutely the difference.
“I can absolutely assume it’s a big, big disappointment for the fan base to see that Frank was sacked.
“I can only repeat I have the biggest respect, I was a huge fan of Frank as a player, it was a huge joy to watch him play and to see how he played.
“He was one of the key figures to demonstrate in 90 minutes what Chelsea was about, intensity, devotion, winning mentality.
“And so I have the biggest respect for him personally and for his legacy.
“It just got bigger when I received a personal message today to wish me all the best and maybe to meet in the future when this is possible.
“So honestly nothing has changed there.
“But in the last 72 hours the club made clear to me this is clearly not my fault and I cannot change the situation for him.
“The decision was made and I was handed the opportunity, but I totally mean what I say about Frank.”
Asked why he had accepted the challenge at Chelsea, Tuchel replied: “Why not? It was the opportunity at one of the biggest clubs in the world, in the most competitive league in the world. It was a pretty easy choice.
Pass. Move. Pass again. 😍— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 28, 2021
“In the end, and the club makes it very clear, in the end at Chelsea it’s about results.
“It’s about results for us as managers.
“We always try to bring in performance, develop players and increase their value.
“But in the end I’m very realistic, I’m in a club whose DNA it is to win and to go for trophies.
“I’m here to challenge every trophy we play for, and that means realistically this season it’s the Champions League and the FA Cup.
“To speak now about the Premier League title there are too many teams between us, this is not realistic, we will just lose the focus if we start here.”
