Mauricio Pochettino believes winning a trophy at Chelsea is a priority ahead of their Carabao Cup quarter-final against Newcastle.
The Blues head into the match against Newcastle off the back of a moral boosting 2-0 win against Sheffield United. Pochettino’s men will be buoyed by the return of Christopher Nkunku from a long-term injury, with the French attacker ready to play 30 minutes.
Five time Carabao Cup winners Chelsea are looking to reach the semi-finals of the competition for the fourth time in seven seasons.
When asked whether he is desperate to win his first trophy in England, Pochettino reiterated his desire to pick up silverware with the Blues:
“Of course, I want to win a trophy here in England. I want to lift a trophy in this competition because it is important. My desire is to win.
“We need to respect our opponents, Newcastle are doing to be tough, we need to deserve to go through.
“This means more for the people than us. It means a lot because we want to deliver the job for our club. Delivering a trophy, the most important thing is to win.
“It’s difficult to measure, it is a priority. It’s in our mind, our objective, we need to be ready tomorrow to be closer to winning a title.”
Having failed to win a trophy in his previous spell in England at Tottenham, Pochettino found success across the channel at Paris Saint-Germain. There the Argentine won three trophies with the French giants, before being let go at the end of the 2021/22 season.
Now, back in England, the 51-year-old believes silverware is not necessary to be defined as an ‘elite’ manager, but is adamant a trophy would boost moral around the club.
“You need to be in the right club, in the right moment with all of the elements to win.
“To be an elite manager, it’s not necessary to win titles. Many elite managers still didn’t win or are going to win or won.
“It’s important to analyse every single project and say you can progress or not or deliver the job everyone expects.
“It’s important, more than us, for the club because it’s going to be a boost an energy and I really believe in the project.”
