Pochettino looking for cup win against Brighton to lift Chelsea pressure
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00:00 Chelsea have got a bit of a leak up their head, is this a game you really want to go
00:07 for and build your best possible side and get a victory?
00:12 Yes, I think it's one of our objectives in this season. I think we need to think and
00:22 it's one opportunity to win a trophy. And of course, maybe the feelings after the defeat
00:29 on Sunday are not the best but I think it's about to move on to give the player the confidence
00:36 and the trust. It's a different competition and we need to change our mood and everything.
00:41 I think yesterday and today we were talking a lot and I think we were trying to bring
00:50 more confidence to the team but I think we are going to be ready tomorrow.
00:53 It's amazing what a win and some goals and a good performance can do, isn't it?
00:58 Yes, because I know that we are in Chelsea and we need to talk and you need to talk about
01:04 many things but I think it's so easy the analysis in that case because we are playing well,
01:09 we have too many good things, very positive things. It's only we are not clinical in front
01:17 of the goal. I think that is what we need to fix and try to give more confidence to
01:25 our offensive player and of course that is the responsibility of everyone. But I think
01:30 in all the data, in every scene, we are in a very positive scene, it's only in this.
01:36 But the problem is that the most important thing is to score goals. If you don't score
01:40 goals, you cannot win games.
01:41 Is it an opportunity for Puerto Rico to perhaps start?
01:45 No, he is not ready to start. I think he is helping the team and he is doing well but
01:53 I think he needs time to be fit again to be able to start a game. I think for 20, 25,
02:02 30 minutes he can help the team but I think he is still not ready.
02:06 Bruno, who you inherited in your coaching staff, who had one game in charge of Bragg
02:11 and he has left the club. What is your understanding behind that?
02:15 I think the decision between the club and of course in that case of Bruno, I think it
02:21 is a situation that didn't belong to my coaching staff and I think it is the best decision
02:27 for sure for him and for the club.
02:29 Caruana, Egbali, Pogba, Pedat?
02:33 Yes, sorry, sorry.
02:37 You know my first name, I know. He reportedly came into the dressing room after the Aston
02:44 Villa game. I think you said when you arrived that you weren't a big fan of owners coming
02:48 into the dressing room. Were you ok?
02:50 No, I like when the owners come. In all my career, like a coach, Espanyol and then Southampton
02:59 or Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain also, you know, before and after. I think it is good
03:07 that the owner came to the dressing room. It is in the way that they approach the player
03:11 that is the most important. If they are in a good way and in a correct way, I think they
03:16 are very welcome. Yes, after my press conference, after all the media, the game again Sunday,
03:26 Aston Villa, they came and shared with us. Like normally, they also did again Liverpool
03:35 first game. I try to remember many things in my head but Liverpool and then Luton and
03:42 Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa. They came with Paul and Lawrence and Pedat and sometimes
03:49 when he is not also but shared some comments and we talked about the game after my duty.
03:59 Yes, I don't see it in a bad way. For me it is good always if they share with us and
04:08 then they can say hello to the player. The difference is they came for some speech or
04:14 different things that of course, that is different. But in the way that they came, of course, they
04:20 are very welcome and they own the club. I think they can do whatever they want. I think
04:26 they are in a very good way and we are so glad that they came and shared time with us.
04:32 Even when it is good things and we won the game, perfect, like it happened Sunday, we
04:40 didn't win. Always to share when we are suffering also.
04:44 Your job to give the speech in the dressing room after the game, did you do that on Sunday?
04:50 Not really but I think we were talking Monday and Tuesday a lot with the player. But of
04:55 course, it is my duty to, if I need to do, it is my decision. Sunday speech. Only me
05:01 or of course with the player, the captain, but it is only me. I think it is not a job
05:09 of the owner to come to the dressing room and give some speech after the game. Even
05:15 when you win or when you lose. But they know very well how they need to behave.
05:20 John, BBC5 Live.
05:22 You talk about trying to bring confidence back into the team. How low is confidence
05:29 at the moment? It is understandable that it will be. What have you done? You have sat
05:32 them all down since Sunday.
05:34 It is about confidence in one aspect, to score goals. I think we need to be more natural
05:40 in the way. When you watch the games and every single team, I think to create chances is
05:45 not only about your position, your position in the game, your movement. If you play with
05:51 one or two strikers, different characteristics in the game. The most important is to be natural.
05:56 In all the aspects, the team shows real confidence and belief in the way that we play, how we
06:05 build, in the way that our organisation acts when we don't have the ball because we don't
06:11 concede too many goals and too many chances. The only thing is that maybe we always in
06:15 an offensive way, we need to be more natural. We were talking a lot in the last two days.
06:21 I think we are going to keep working really hard. We are very positive. Of course, the
06:30 idea when you start the season and when you plan the effective and the squad is about
06:36 to always think in the very best scenario for the team. Of course, for different circumstances,
06:46 we are not in the very best situation. I know it's a struggle when the situation is not
06:52 how you project, but the important thing is to have experience and to be calm and keep
06:58 working. The most important is to identify the problem. The problem is that we need to
07:02 be more clinical in front of the goal. Only we are missing that. If not, for sure, we
07:09 are in a different way.
07:14 Have you been surprised by what's happened? You couldn't have expected a start like this, could you?
07:23 Of course, if you go back to after the Liverpool game, I think no one expected this situation.
07:30 The circumstances were the circumstances that sometimes you cannot manage and a little bit
07:36 of bad luck. We cannot talk about excuses, but that is the circumstances and the reality.
07:43 The most important now is to stay calm. We need to identify because I think the analysis
07:51 is the most important thing. It's how you are after you are going to attack the situation
07:56 to improve. The most important now is we have the players that we have. Now trying to recover
08:02 players to be more strong and strengthen also on the bench. I think players are able to help
08:11 the team to go through to this situation.
08:16 What's the thinking behind the situation?
08:22 I am so happy with Levi in the way that he is playing. He is showing character and I
08:31 think he has provided the team a very good balance. I think Chile is going to have the
08:38 possibility to play. I think tomorrow he is going to play. But I think always the expectation
08:45 and how we expect from the player. I think we were using him in knowing his best position
08:52 because he was a winger. But that is why after we started to play with a winger like Misha
08:59 that he recovered and maybe Sterling in that position, our thought was to keep Levi in
09:06 the position because I think he was doing well.
09:14 Has this been a more difficult job than you thought? Or have there been lots of positives
09:19 that you could take out? What's been a tough start?
09:23 No, I think it's not worse than I thought because I think we knew that always new project
09:33 or to settle a different project that was here in the club is always difficult. But
09:40 I think maybe it happened in this period in the last few weeks. Maybe it's the worst
09:45 scenario that we can think to anticipate the situation. But that happened, maybe it looks
09:53 like it's always against us because when you see the performance of the team, I think
09:59 they deserve to have more points that we reflect on the table. But I think all the team go
10:06 through for different period. Maybe for us it happened in the beginning, for sure we
10:11 are so strong and I think we have the capacity to turn this in a positive way.
10:17 It's funny how football is sometimes. Two or three years ago maybe Brighton would have
10:21 come into this game and their objective would be to do well in the League Cup and win the
10:25 League Cup. Chelsea would have championships and Champions League to look forward to.
10:30 Brighton have got European football this season, they may be able to top four. Would you say
10:35 Chelsea's aim this year would be to win something so therefore the League Cup is maybe more important?
10:40 I think it's only important because the Premier League is important for Chelsea. But if we
10:44 want to play in the European Cup next season, I think it's still so early. It's strange
10:54 of course but that is football. It always happens, in history it happens. From my experience
11:00 in the Premier League, more than ten years now, always some club that was on the top
11:06 maybe dropped. I think some club, in that case I remember before it was Sao Janto, many
11:13 years ago Leicester and now it's in the second division. I think always that situation happens.
11:19 We need to be consistent and to create a project that we can be consistent playing in the place
11:28 that the club deserve to be.
11:30 Roberto Deserbi, there seems to be a lot of managers that are in his fan club that think
11:35 he's done an amazing job, he's an amazing coach. From your perspective, what have you
11:39 made of Roberto Deserbi?
11:41 Yes, I have a very good relationship with him. I think he's a great coach. He's doing
11:45 a fantastic job in Brighton and in his career of course. Yes, it's a pleasure to meet him
11:53 tomorrow.
11:54 You mentioned there that Levi provided balance at left back. Is that to do with keeping him
12:05 closer to Thiago? Is there a concern about Thiago playing too much given his age?
12:12 No, Thiago is already doing well. I think the way that we want to play and the moment
12:21 we recover some offensive player like Mudric, I think he's very good building from back.
12:32 He's strong because you need a strong defensive line. I think the data that we have in a defensive
12:40 situation, I think the team is one of the best in the league and it looks like we are
12:44 doing well. Then, yes, I think when you have an offensive player in front, sometimes you
12:52 don't need another full-back that can go and attack. I think it's all a question of balance
13:00 and I'm happy with him because he provides very good things. I think at the moment, because
13:06 of his football, we can change and I think we are happy with him playing there.
13:10 Last question in this section. Davide.
13:14 You say there are a lot of things you like so far about your team. What is the thing
13:19 you like the most?
13:24 I think the belief in a very short time that we are together because realistic only start
13:35 after the transfer window closed. Before it was a little bit, you know, in a stable situation.
13:43 I think in a few weeks, I think the team get what we wanted and I think we are showing
13:52 how we play, the ideas, the way that we dominate the games and always to be clear. I think
14:01 every single footballer in this country sees Chelsea and says, "Oh, they sell more, they
14:05 sell more, they sell more." But what we are missing is to score goals. The most important
14:10 thing in football, we cannot forget that and I agree with you. Criticise, of course, we
14:15 need to get criticised because we are not winning games. But I think we need to keep
14:20 doing the... being strong in the belief and I think the team is very well organised. The
14:28 effort is massive. I think all the players, you can see again Aston Villa, how the team
14:34 fight. We were okay in the transition 1v1 when we lost the game and how they scored.
14:41 We were creating chances with one player less than Aston Villa. I think the team belief
14:47 and we cannot show less than we are showing and that is the way that we are going to change
14:57 the luck. We are going to change the scene and we are going to transform in positive
15:01 because the quality is there.
15:03 Okay, cameras off please. That's the end of the broadcast section.