Chelsea: Mauricio Pochettino says he may need five years to fix team | Football

Mauricio Pochettino admits it may still take up to five years to fix Chelsea’s problems after their 2-2 draw against 20th-placed Sheffield United.

The Blues headed into Sunday’s clash against the side bottom of the league full of confidence after Thursday’s thrilling, late 4-3 victory over Manchester United.

Thiago Silva fired Chelsea ahead at Bramall Lane and even after Jayden Boggle’s equaliser, the west Londoners were on course for the win when Noni Madueke restored their lead in the second half.

But Chelsea couldn’t hang on and their miserable season continued as Oli McBurnie’s 93rd-minute goal secured a point for the relegation favourites.

Speaking after the match, Pochettino admitted that Chelsea could still be a five-year project.

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‘We are talking a lot,’ the Argentine head coach said. ‘It is a new team with profiles in the squad that we are learning.

‘The combination sometimes, that is why the process always takes time. It’s not a magic thing. It’s a project, a three or five-year process to build a team.

‘We are in the semi-final of the FA Cup. We were not in a good position in the beginning. It is a normal process that has happened, we need to accept. We are working to try and fix this type of problem.’

Pochettino believes that the draw was a fair result, even though it left him extremely disappointed and frustrated.

‘Very frustrating because we conceded in the first-half after we scored,’ he added. ‘Then you concede in the last few minutes, you always feel very disappointed and frustrated.

‘I want to say the draw is a fair result. Even if we control and have possession, we didn’t create enough. We didn’t show the capacity to be solid and be strong. That is the painful situation.

‘The team is not showing in the last few months the capacity to be solid. We score goals but we are conceding and that is why they punish us. Maybe this group is not mature enough to compete in games every three days.’

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