[ UK TV LIVE ]
A very smiley Mauricio Pochettino addressed the media on Friday afternoon with his Chelsea side returning to action at the weekend. The sunshine in Cobham must have put the Blues head coach in a very pleasant mood. Here's every word from Pochettino.
How is Romeo Lavia?
"We are really disappointed because he was training really well last week in the international break. He twisted his ankle and now we are waiting for the results on Monday from the doctor. We hope it's not a big issue but in the last week he has not been training with the team.
"It's a sad situation because he was nearly fit to be involved again with the team. Yes, now we need to wait and hopefully it's not a big issue for him and the team of course."
Is the six weeks figure true?
"We don't know because we need to assess him. He twisted his ankle and now we need to assess him. We do not know the time for him to recover."
Armando Broja, the Albanian FA chief suggested he could be on the bench on Sunday...
"Who said that? Who is the Albanian FA? The coach? The president? I didn't hear. It's not [true]. Not yet."
Badiashile, too?
"Not yet. The same situation."
Is Enzo Fernandez ready to start after arriving late back?
"Today, he's good. He's in a good mood, has a good energy. He scored against Bolivia. Yes, I think he's in a very good mood and I think he is ready."
Is Moises the same?
"Moises, we need to assess him because he was a little bit later than Enzo, but hopefully yes, he will be fit to play."
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Reece James, after the Liverpool game you hoped he would only be out for a few weeks. Is he close?
"He's recovering well. I don't know if he's close or not because we assess him every single day but he's started to do things on the pitch with the ball. He's really well. He's desperate to play for the team. Yes, I hope it's close, also so he can be available before the next international break."
The spirit seems good here despite the last game...
"Despite the result; yes. That is a process we need to understand. Of course I think it's only a matter of time until we talk in a different way. I think when you analyse the five games we have played at the beginning of the season, I think the five we have deserved to win, but we didn't win for different circumstances. We were talking before, the injuries have made the situation difficult. Right now, the last two weeks we were working really, really hard but only with four players and two players who came from an injury that we were adapting in training.
"I think it's only a matter of time. We have very good players and a good squad. The circumstances are the circumstances. We are in a situation that we need to accept. We need to focus to try and get the results. For sure we are going to perform [better]."
Is having no European football an advantage?
"With the circumstances, of course, I think it is better for us because we have 11 or 12 players injured. And I think it shows with the squad at the moment. I think we only have 14 or 15 players. I think it's important that we can recover the players and be competitive. Of course with the history of Chelsea, we need to be involved in European competition but that is not in my hands now, that is the reality. In our hands now is to work and to try and be in there next season. For sure we are going to be in European competition next season."
Jackson's performance vs Forest wasn't the greatest...
"For me, the performance was good, only he did not score. And you can assess the player but a striker does need to score; I agree with you. The striker needs to score or assist but we need to think that Jackson came from Spain, he's young, he needs to build his confidence and trust, he needs to adapt to the Premier League. It's only a matter of time.
"But he is doing a fantastic job for the team. Only he needs to be a little bit more clinical in front of goal but to be more clinical in front of the goal, he needs trust for the space to be able to play. I think that is going to happen. I have no doubt that he is a fantastic player."
What don't you want to see after this international break that you saw before the international break?
"I think the team's performance was good in the first month. I think we didn't get the points we deserved as a team. I think we know the way we want to play after not too much time playing together. I think the players believe in the way we want to play and if you see the data, we are very good in possession and all these aspects.
"What we are missing is scoring goals [laughs] and that is the most important thing in football. We want to keep this way. We need to be more competitive. We cannot concede this type of goal we conceded against Nottingham. We need to not be so weak in this situation, we need to be stronger because we have players with experience and players that can do better. We need to be more competitive and not only to play well.
"At the moment, my feeling is bad because we are playing well, we are showing everyone we can compete and dominate teams like Liverpool, but at the end we need to be more, I say competitive because I don't want to use another word, but we need to be a bit more naughty on how to win. We need to be more aggressive in this type of situation. We cannot give chances like the teams we only concede one chance to and they score one goal."
On the aggressive and naughty comment... are they too nice?
"No, not too nice – it's to compete better. It's not about our quality, it's about our way to compete. It's to compete in every single moment of the game knowing there is something to do and because we are still in the process of building the team. We need to find the balance, but for sure it's only a matter of time. I tried to describe why, you know, we haven't got the points we deserved."
Is there a psychological hangover from last season?
"I think there is nothing to do [with last season]. If you watch the game against Nottingham Forest and after two weeks of trying to identify why we lose the game, it's really tough. But I think there's nothing to do with last season. We need to blame ourselves. We need to find solutions within ourselves. We cannot blame the past, last season."
Do you need to reassess your aims for this season?
"No because we need to win. I want to win. The players need to feel the pressure from ourselves. It is too early to give up or to say we are not going to achieve what we said when we were talking at the beginning. We need to keep going and to believe, even if the result isn't what we wanted or deserved, but we need to keep going and believing because I think it's only the beginning."
Is Trevoh Chalobah still part of your plans at Chelsea?
"Yes, of course. I am Chelsea. I am the coach. His future is going to be [here]. He is in our plans. No one is going to decide for me. He is going to be involved. Now we have finished the transfer window, he is going to be involved in the decisions. Chalobah and the other players in the squad are part of my plans. Some players don't play, but that is my choice."
Have you spoken to Trevoh yet?
"Yes I say 'hello' today like all of the players, but specifically about this, there is nothing to talk to him about this. He is a Chelsea player and he will have the same opportunities as the other."
In your last 13 Premier League away games, you haven't won, does that bother you? Is Bournemouth a must-win?
"Why? The circumstances were completely different. Every game is a must-win. If you don't win in football, [there are] problems. All my life, as a player, coach [for] 14 years, my career in football I wouldn't be here today [if it bothered him]."
