03 February 2024 , 22:30
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Mauricio Pochettino insists Chelsea are building a team for the future - while using Jurgen Klopp's "celebration party" as inspiration.
The frustrated Blues boss is still licking his wounds after referee Paul Tierney denied his team two penalties in Wednesday night's 4-1 pummelling at Anfield. But he concedes Liverpool deserved the victory and that his Chelsea stars must use the experience to close the distance on the Premier League's top sides.
Pochettino said: "Do I worry? No. I think it was a game that was important for us to feel what it means to play against a team that was celebrating the farewell of their coach. It was a massive celebration party with positive energy for the team and full confidence.
"You need to show your character and personality and then play. Of course, with the circumstances, we could have been 1-0 up in five minutes. Why not? Bad luck. I won't complain or blame but I need to be calm and after analysing the 90 minutes they were better."
Chelsea sat 10th in the table on 31 points before this weekend's action. It's the exact same position and points total they had acquired at this stage of last season when Graham Potter's tenure was plunged into crisis.
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Pochettino snapped when quizzed on the lack of domestic progress - claiming they're two different squads while also adding that spending big cash does not always translate to success.
He responded: "You have 15/16 players that were different. We have two different goalkeepers for starters. One wasn't playing at Brighton and one is from the MLS - how do you compare?
"We have to put context into the situation. What does it say, that today we are not in the position that we should be or last season we did not perform?
"We need to stop using the excuse about money. We are building a team for the future. We are investing in players that, for us, we believe are going to be here for the next years to achieve and reach the level we expect. It's not like a magic touch.
Chelsea were thumped 4-1 by Liverpool in midweek"Christopher Nkunku is not performing in the way we want after seven months but is that because we are not so good at managing players? No, it's because of the circumstances, injuries."
Nicolas Jackson is in line to rival Nkunku for a starting berth against Wolves following Armando Broja's deadline-day loan switch to Fulham. The Senegal international returned to Cobham on Friday to participate in his first training session since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Mykhaylo Mudryk is also pushing to start despite recent struggles but Pochettino claims Chelsea must also share the responsibility of unlocking his full potential.
The Argentine added on the Ukrainian: "He started the game in the Carabao Cup semi-final against Middlesbrough, one of the most important games for us.
"It's a young guy that arrived here one year ago. With all the circumstances around, of course, he needs to improve. He has amazing quality and potential but it's also a collective game. It's not tennis."