Mauricio Pochettino is already building a good connection with the Chelsea fans, the Evening Standard’s Simon Collings believes.
The new Blues boss has spoken to the media for the first time this week after officially starting work at Cobham on Monday.
He faces a tall task to turn things around at Chelsea, who finished 12th in the Premier League last season, but Pochettino says he is under no illusions of the need to “deliver from day one” despite the massive changes at the club over the past year.
Having previously managed rivals Tottenham, Pochettino may face a more difficult task than most to win over the fans.
But Collings, speaking on the Hayters TV Podcast, says Pochettino is already helping to connect with the Chelsea supporters through the way he is communicating in the media.
“It’s going to be a realy difficult job for Pochettino and I think there will need to be some patience from the Chelsea fans,” he said.
“I think with the way Pochettino is speaking, it will help build that connection. For me, with (Graham) Potter, there was never that bond with Chelsea fans. They never connected.
“Pochettino did that very well at Spurs, it was a big thing for him, and if he can do the same at Chelsea it will help him.
“It’s different to Arsenal because obviously Chelsea have almost put themselves in this situation with the money they’ve spent under (Todd) Boehly.
“But the size of the rebuild feels almost comparable to Arsenal’s, for me. Arsenal took two or three years to get into the Champions League under Arteta.
“If it takes them two seasons to get into the Champions League, I wouldn’t be surprised. Simply because the teams above them have not got worse.”
Collings was joined by Hayters TV’s Gerry Cox and Nick Callow, who also discussed Mason Mount’s departure for Man Utd.
