Mauricio Pochettino admits some of Chelsea’s younger players are struggling with the pressure of playing for the club.
The big-spending west London side have floundered in mid-table all season, with their summer overhaul of bringing in young talent from across Europe so far yet to bear fruit.
Chelsea had the chance to claim a trophy last month, but a number of missed opportunities cost them dear as they lost the Carabao Cup final to Liverpool after extra-time.
And Pochettino believes not all of the club’s signings have settled in as well as star man Cole Palmer, who scored his 11th Premier League goal of the season during the Monday’s 3-2 win over Newcastle.
Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s FA Cup quarter-final with Leicester on Sunday, Pochettino said: “One thing we cannot change is to give time to the players to get experience and be more mature.
“In the same time that you ask me about Cole Palmer, not all the players have the same process of settling in at the club or to perform.
“Yes, we are in a process that the main group, the main young players…of course they struggle a little bit to deal with the pressure to play for Chelsea.
“That is the thing we are, of course, aware of and we are focusing on trying to help them in all the areas.
“Because when you have this young squad, it’s not only to help them in training, in the two hours maybe of that. We have spent a lot of time talking with the people that work around these guys, who are important too.”
Chelsea brought in over a dozen new players last summer – as well as coach Pochettino – as they looked to build on a hugely disappointing 2022/23 campaign which saw them finish 12th in the league and suffer early exits from both domestic cup competitions.
One of the newcomers was Nicolas Jackson, who joined the Blues from Villarreal for a reported £29.8 million, and, after a difficult start in England, he took his league tally for the season to nine goals with the opener against Newcastle.
That is one less than former Chelsea star Didier Drogba managed in his first year at Stamford Bridge and Pochettino believes the 22-year-old Senegal international is a player on the rise.
The Chelsea boss said: “You all are now seeing how he is improving. The most difficult thing was to support him when it was tough. I told you I really believe in him.
“I believe he is going to be very successful here.
“He has the quality and the capacity. Now he is doing much better but still needs to improve a lot. The numbers are similar to Drogba in his first season.
“That maybe gives the fans more belief in him and to be a little more patient with him, but always it depends on the circumstances.
“Now I hope people can start to understand he has the condition to be very good.”
Chelsea’s struggles this season sees them down in 11th spot in the table, but with seventh-placed West Ham only four points ahead and having played a game more, there is still a possibility of securing European football for next season.
That may be the Europa Conference League, but Pochettino says Chelsea – Champions League winners in 2012 and 2021 – will respect any competition they are in.
He said: “We need to accept the reality and if we arrive at the end of the season and we qualify for the Conference League, we need to accept and respect the competition and go to try to win the competition.
“We need to accept the reality. I am not going to say nothing, it is an international competition.”
Postecoglou not motivated by denting Arsenal's title hopes in north London derby
Ange Postecoglou insists Tottenham must focus on themselves heading into the north London derby with Arsenal, rather than on denting their rivals' Premier League title hopes.
With four matches remaining, the Gunners are a point clear at the summit from reigning champions Manchester City, who still have a game in hand on Mikel Arteta's side in second place.
While Arsenal look to stay very much in the hunt for a first league crown in 20 years, fifth-place Tottenham will aim to reduce their six-point deficit to fourth-place Aston Villa, on whom they have two games in hand.
Spurs are winless in the last three north London derbies - winning just one of the most recent six - though they twice came from behind to earn a point in September's reverse fixture at the Emirates Stadium.
And Postecoglou has his sights firmly set on beating his side's rivals, and says his players are not driven by the prospect of thwarting their opponents' title bid.
"Not in terms of that as a motivation," he said when asked if he would like to dent Arsenal's title hopes.
"I understand the importance of winning against your traditional rival. I never believe your motivation should revolve around the demise of somebody else.
"Your motivation should be about yourself. We can win on Sunday, but it doesn't mean we are title contenders this year. I want to win because I want us to progress. I want us to be in a position fighting for the title.
"If that's your kind of measure, always peering over the back fence to see what your neighbour's building, you could both have the worst houses in the street because everyone else is building beautiful places, and you're looking over the back fence."
Leicester City seal automatic Premier League return
Leicester City are once more a Premier League team, having bounced straight back after relegation last season.
The Foxes secured automatic promotion without kicking a ball, as title rivals Leeds United lost 4-0 away to Queens Park Rangers on Friday.
Marti Cifuentes' Hoops side gave their fans a reason to cheer in their final home game of the season, and the emphatic win means they are now seven points clear of the relegation zone.
The Hoops boss told BBC Sport: "I came here, perhaps I was crazy thinking we could manage the great escape.
"The atmosphere has been unbelievable since I came here. Everybody thought tonight could be a special night to achieve our target.
"Big players deliver big performances and our players all did that tonight."
Defeat ensured only Ipswich Town can now finish above Leicester, meaning the Foxes will be back in the big time.
Ipswich, who have three games left to play, face play-off hopefuls Hull City on Saturday.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Leeds boss Daniel Farke said: "It's not in our hands any more [automatic promotion], we need to be honest.
"The race is not over. If Ipswich win the next two games then I will say congratulations, but if they don’t win them then we will have a lot to play for.
"As long as we have a chance, I’m far away from giving up."
Leicester could be crowned champions if they beat Preston North End on Monday and if Hull beat Ipswich.
The Foxes are looking to break the 100-point barrier, despite a wobble from Enzo Maresca's side in recent months.
After they had been so far ahead and top for all but two of the 176 days between 23 September and 17 March, an untimely dip in form handed Leeds and Ipswich hope.
However, while Leicester celebrate their promotion, they face the daunting prospect of starting next season with a points deduction, after they were charged by the Premier League with alleged breaches of the competition's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Nashville SC v San Jose Earthquakes: ‘A win would change everything’ - Godoy
Anibal Godoy insists that Nashville are already looking at their game against San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday as a must-win.
Nashville have won just once in the MLS this season and sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference after a run of four without a win.
The Earthquakes, meanwhile, are bottom of the Western Conference having lost eight of their matches and recording just one win.
Godoy is aware of how their poor start to the season could affect their playoff hopes later down the line but is confident that Nashville can turn things around.
He said: “For us, it's an important week. It's a day we have to win, or we'll start to feel the pressure from other teams as they start to separate in the table.
“This league is long but if we want to get to the playoff you have to win games early on, especially at home.”
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