Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment at Chelsea on a two-year contract continues the strong managerial connection between the Blues and Tottenham.

The Argentinian becomes the fifth man to manage both clubs in the Premier League era and here, the PA news agency looks at the records of his predecessors.

Glenn Hoddle

Chelsea 1993-96: P157, W53 (33.7 per cent), D54, L50

Tottenham 2001-03: P104, W41 (38.3 per cent), D18, L45

The long-time Spurs midfielder finished his career as Chelsea player-manager for two seasons before a third solely in the dugout. His sides never finished higher than 11th in the league but reached an FA Cup final, losing 4-0 to Manchester United, and semi-final as well as a Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final.

After spells with England and Southampton, he took charge at White Hart Lane with similar results to his Chelsea spell – Spurs reached a League Cup final, losing to Blackburn, but finished ninth and 10th in the league before he was sacked six games into the next season.

Andre Villas-Boas

Chelsea 2011-12: P40, W19 (47.5 per cent), D11, L10

Tottenham 2012-13: P80, W44 (55.0 per cent), D20 L16

After their success with Jose Mourinho, Chelsea once again turned to Porto to recruit Villas-Boas, who had worked as part of Mourinho’s staff. He was unable to work similar magic as manager, lasting just 40 games and less than a season in the role.

He lasted twice as long at Spurs but narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification in his first season and was dismissed with the club lying seventh shortly before Christmas in his second, having failed to make the most of the then-world record fee received for Gareth Bale’s move to Real Madrid and lost 6-0 to Manchester City and 5-0 to Liverpool in his last five league games in charge.

Jose Mourinho

Chelsea 2004-07, 2013-15: P321, W204 (63.6 per cent), D69, L48

Tottenham 2019-21: P86, W44 (51.2 per cent), D19, L23

Announcing himself as a “Special One”, Mourinho lived up to that billing in his first spell at Stamford Bridge with back-to-back league titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups. His unbeaten home record in the league lasted 77 games in all and into his second spell, when he won the Premier League and League Cup for a third time each.

After another League Cup and a Europa League with Manchester United, Spurs banked on Mourinho as Pochettino’s replacement to end a trophy drought amounting to a solitary League Cup since 1991. With Spurs finishing sixth and then seventh in the league, though, Mourinho was sacked just days before his chance to bring silverware in the 2021 League Cup final – which Manchester City won 1-0 against a team led by caretaker manager Ryan Mason.

Antonio Conte

Chelsea 2016-18: P106, W69 (65.1 per cent), D17, L20

Tottenham 2021-23: P77, W41 (53.2 per cent), D12, L24*

Conte brought a Premier League title and an FA Cup to Chelsea, but was sacked after they finished only fifth in the league in his second season.

His volatile style never meshed easily with Tottenham and his exit in March, railing at “selfish players” and Tottenham’s “story” of failing to win trophies, has left them still searching for a permanent successor, Mason again at the helm after Conte’s assistant Cristian Stellini was remarkably sacked as interim manager.

(*includes 3-0 loss to Rennes by forfeit in Europa Conference League, December 2021)

Mauricio Pochettino

Tottenham 2014-19: P293, W159 (54.3 per cent), D62, L72

Chelsea: appointed 2023

Unlike the other names on this list, Pochettino moves to Chelsea having first managed Tottenham rather than the other way round.

He took Spurs to the 2019 Champions League final, where they lost to Liverpool, and his return was widely craved by sections of their fanbase – any notable success at Chelsea will therefore be all the more painful for their London rivals.

Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment at Chelsea on a two-year contract continues the strong managerial connection between the Blues and Tottenham.

The Argentinian becomes the fifth man to manage both clubs in the Premier League era and here, the PA news agency looks at the records of his predecessors.

Glenn Hoddle

Chelsea 1993-96: P157, W53 (33.7 per cent), D54, L50

Tottenham 2001-03: P104, W41 (38.3 per cent), D18, L45

The long-time Spurs midfielder finished his career as Chelsea player-manager for two seasons before a third solely in the dugout. His sides never finished higher than 11th in the league but reached an FA Cup final, losing 4-0 to Manchester United, and semi-final as well as a Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final.

After spells with England and Southampton, he took charge at White Hart Lane with similar results to his Chelsea spell – Spurs reached a League Cup final, losing to Blackburn, but finished ninth and 10th in the league before he was sacked six games into the next season.

Andre Villas-Boas

Chelsea 2011-12: P40, W19 (47.5 per cent), D11, L10

Tottenham 2012-13: P80, W44 (55.0 per cent), D20 L16

After their success with Jose Mourinho, Chelsea once again turned to Porto to recruit Villas-Boas, who had worked as part of Mourinho’s staff. He was unable to work similar magic as manager, lasting just 40 games and less than a season in the role.

He lasted twice as long at Spurs but narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification in his first season and was dismissed with the club lying seventh shortly before Christmas in his second, having failed to make the most of the then-world record fee received for Gareth Bale’s move to Real Madrid and lost 6-0 to Manchester City and 5-0 to Liverpool in his last five league games in charge.

Jose Mourinho

Chelsea 2004-07, 2013-15: P321, W204 (63.6 per cent), D69, L48

Tottenham 2019-21: P86, W44 (51.2 per cent), D19, L23

Announcing himself as a “Special One”, Mourinho lived up to that billing in his first spell at Stamford Bridge with back-to-back league titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups. His unbeaten home record in the league lasted 77 games in all and into his second spell, when he won the Premier League and League Cup for a third time each.

After another League Cup and a Europa League with Manchester United, Spurs banked on Mourinho as Pochettino’s replacement to end a trophy drought amounting to a solitary League Cup since 1991. With Spurs finishing sixth and then seventh in the league, though, Mourinho was sacked just days before his chance to bring silverware in the 2021 League Cup final – which Manchester City won 1-0 against a team led by caretaker manager Ryan Mason.

Antonio Conte

Chelsea 2016-18: P106, W69 (65.1 per cent), D17, L20

Tottenham 2021-23: P77, W41 (53.2 per cent), D12, L24*

Conte brought a Premier League title and an FA Cup to Chelsea, but was sacked after they finished only fifth in the league in his second season.

His volatile style never meshed easily with Tottenham and his exit in March, railing at “selfish players” and Tottenham’s “story” of failing to win trophies, has left them still searching for a permanent successor, Mason again at the helm after Conte’s assistant Cristian Stellini was remarkably sacked as interim manager.

(*includes 3-0 loss to Rennes by forfeit in Europa Conference League, December 2021)

Mauricio Pochettino

Tottenham 2014-19: P293, W159 (54.3 per cent), D62, L72

Chelsea: appointed 2023

Unlike the other names on this list, Pochettino moves to Chelsea having first managed Tottenham rather than the other way round.

He took Spurs to the 2019 Champions League final, where they lost to Liverpool, and his return was widely craved by sections of their fanbase – any notable success at Chelsea will therefore be all the more painful for their London rivals.

Mauricio Pochettino has been appointed as the new permanent Chelsea boss.

The Blues have turned to the former Tottenham manager at the end of a  turbulent campaign which saw them finish 12th in the Premier League.

Here, the PA news agency examines Pochettino’s managerial record.

Espanyol

Won 53, drew 38, lost 70; 32.9 per cent win rate

Having finished his playing career with the Catalan club, Pochettino was pressed into service to lead a struggling team in January 2009 and lifted them from the relegation zone to a mid-table finish – drawing with local rivals Barcelona in the Copa del Rey and beating them in LaLiga.

Espanyol finished 11th, eighth and 14th in his three full seasons in charge, though the former Argentina defender left with them bottom of the table in November 2012 after a poor run of form and a dispute over financial restrictions.

Southampton

Won 23, drew 18, lost 19; 38.3 per cent win rate

Taking over mid-season from the popular Nigel Adkins, Pochettino led Saints to a 14th-placed finish in 2012-13 and an impressive eighth the following campaign.

Conducting press conferences via an interpreter throughout his spell on the south coast, Pochettino was nevertheless clearly able to get his message across to an over-achieving squad and position himself for higher-profile roles to come.

Tottenham

Won 159, drew 62, lost 72; 54.3 per cent win rate

Pochettino’s five-year reign at Tottenham marked the most prolonged period of success and stability in their recent history, with the club finishing fifth, third, second, third and fourth and reaching finals of the Champions League and the League Cup.

The Argentinian nurtured a Spurs squad that was the youngest in the Premier League when they ended as runners-up in 2016-17, containing a mix of domestic talents such as Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Eric Dier, and overseas players including Christian Eriksen, Son Heung-min and Toby Alderweireld.

A club that had had 10 coaches in 12 years before Pochettino’s arrival in 2014 have cycled through Jose Mourinho, interim boss Ryan Mason (twice), Nuno Espirito Santo, Antonio Conte and caretaker Cristian Stellini in short order since his departure in November 2019.

Paris St Germain

Won 55, drew 15, lost 14; 65.5 per cent win rate

The French giants, where Pochettino spent time as a player, brought him the first major trophies of his managerial career by winning the Coupe de France in 2020-21 and Ligue 1 in 2021-22.

However, his tenure was not deemed successful as a runners-up finish to Lille in 2020-21 meant PSG missed out on the Ligue 1 title for only the second time in nine seasons, and he failed to guide the capital club to the Champions League final.

Pochettino was sacked last summer having won less than 66 per cent of matches in all competitions, whereas his predecessor Thomas Tuchel – who started this season as Chelsea boss – had a 75 per cent win rate across his two-and-a-half years in charge.

Mauricio Pochettino has been appointed Chelsea manager on a two-year deal.

The former Tottenham coach, who has been out of work since leaving Paris St Germain last year, will take over from interim boss Frank Lampard who oversaw his final game in charge against Newcastle on Sunday.

It brings to an end an almost two-month process to find a permanent successor to Graham Potter, who was sacked on April 2.

The PA news agency understands Pochettino had been the club’s first choice from early in the search, which was led by co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.

He was the only candidate the club got into serious talks with, despite conversations that took place with former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann, ex-Spain coach Luis Enrique and Burnley’s Vincent Kompany.

The new manager, whose contract includes an option for a third season, will work closely with Winstanley and Stewart as the club look to rebuild after their worst season in 30 years.

New Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino will find he has a daunting in-tray once he gets to work at Stamford Bridge as the Blues look to bounce back from the wreckage of this season.

The job presents as many opportunities as it does challenges and a coach of Pochettino’s charisma, calibre and character will relish trying to mould solutions out of the current malaise.

Here, the PA news agency looks at what the former Tottenham and Paris St Germain boss has to get to grips with.

Slim down the squad…

Successive managers have reaped the chaos of the new Chelsea ownership’s scattergun approach to recruitment during the last 12 months and a significant clear-out is needed if the squad is to be anything like manageable.

Apart from the obvious logistical headache of trying to organise training with a bloated group that exceeds 30, there is the effect on morale that having so much surplus and deadwood will have around Cobham.

There is clearly no sense in the manager and his staff investing time and attention during sessions in players who are unlikely to feature, particularly when those currently comprising the starting XI present next to no cohesion.

Pochettino needs to figure out quickly who of the current crop has a role to play in his rebuild and who can be put towards easing the Financial Fair Play pressure the club is under.

… but persuade Joao Felix to stay

It might seem counter-productive considering the above but convincing the on-loan winger to turn his six-month loan stay from Atletico Madrid into a permanent one will be key.

It will likely mean tossing another hefty transfer fee into an already nightmarish FFP calculation, but Felix has been one of few recruits under new owner Todd Boehly who has shown something close to his best, albeit not consistently.

He has six months of acclimatising to the Premier League under his belt and, like Enzo Fernandez, has the potential under the right manager to become one of the best in the world.

Don’t write off Aubameyang and Lukaku

Despite the fact that only four Premier League teams this season have fewer goals – 19th-placed Leicester have outscored them by 13 – there are two strikers on Chelsea’s books that between them have scored almost 600 goals at the top level.

It has not worked out so far for either Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Romelu Lukaku at Stamford Bridge, but nor has much else during the two years since the club paid £97.5million to bring in Lukaku – currently on loan at Inter Milan – and Aubameyang’s time has been even more chaotic.

If the problem until now has been one of relationships, personnel and the lack of a settled environment then a new manager and staff could go some of the way towards wiping the slate clean for both players.

There is also a buy-back option on Tammy Abraham about to come into effect that, considering his success at Roma, might also be worth looking at given the lack of firepower.

Give supporters back that old Chelsea swagger

Part of the reason Graham Potter never looked a natural fit at Stamford Bridge was an absence of the self-assurance bordering on arrogance that defined some of the club’s most successful managers.

Title-winners Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte oozed entitlement – even though in reality their swagger was hard earned – whilst Carlo Ancelotti exhibited a confident coolness.

To supporters, Chelsea’s image is just one more part of their identity next to the haul of trophies from the last 20 years.

Pochettino has the personality to satisfy certain of those requirements. Whether he can do it whilst matching the success of that glittering trio will be the true test.

Gary Lineker has congratulated Everton after his former club survived in the Premier League at the expense of his boyhood team Leicester.

The two clubs had been in jeopardy heading into the final round of fixtures on Sunday but ultimately Everton’s 1-0 victory over Bournemouth ensured they avoided the drop.

At one stage it looked as though it could be the Foxes who stayed up as they took an early lead against West Ham but their eventual 2-1 win was rendered academic by Everton’s result.

The Toffees ended the season in 17th place, two points ahead of Leicester, while Leeds were also relegated after a 4-1 loss to Tottenham.

Former England striker Lineker, who began his career at Leicester before spending a season at Everton in the mid-1980s, tweeted: “Absolutely gutted, but glad it’s Everton. Have a lot of love for that great football club. Congratulations.”

Leicester’s relegation comes seven years after they were crowned Premier League champions and just two years after they won the FA Cup.

Lineker added: “A word on Leicester. If eight years ago, you’d have given me the option of winning the Premier League and the FA Cup and then get relegated, I’d have snapped your hand off. Also I’d have told you not to be so utterly ridiculous.”

It has been a dismal season for Leicester and TV pundit Roy Keane was not sure how quickly they could recover.

The former Manchester United midfielder said on Sky Sports: “They didn’t seem to get any momentum into the season from a bad start. It’s no surprise to see them where they are.

“Clubs can bounce back but it isn’t easy. I think it is a rebuilding job at Leicester.”

Leeds’ three-year stint in the Premier League ended in a whimper as they were thrashed by Spurs at Elland Road.

The club had brought in Sam Allardyce in a last-ditch attempt to escape relegation with four games remaining but the former England boss was unable to engineer a recovery.

The team collected just one point from Allardyce’s games and finished in 19th position, five points behind Everton.

Keane was scathing of their performances.

He said: “They’ve looked weak over the last month or two, even with Sam coming in.

“They were fighting for their lives today and conceded four goals at home. That’s nowhere near good enough.

“Sam obviously came in too late. Defensively they look so weak. Some of the goals – it’s almost pub team defending.

“Not strong enough mentally, that desire – nowhere near good enough.”

Chelsea, meanwhile, aimed a parting shot at Leeds on social media.

Rivalry between those two clubs dates back to some hard-fought clashes in the 1960s and 70s.

In August, Leeds trolled Chelsea on Twitter during their 3-0 victory over the London club.

In that game, Chelsea tweeted the Blues were “starting to assert ourselves” just moments before Leeds opened the scoring and quickly followed with a second goal.

“Life comes at you fast!” Leeds tweeted in reply.

Now, nine months later, Chelsea have got their own back.

“It certainly does,” they tweeted.

Frank Lampard said he believes the standards at Chelsea have dropped after he signed off as interim manager with a 1-1 draw against Newcastle.

The result means Lampard failed to register a single home victory during his second spell in charge, with his last win as manager at Stamford Bridge still a 3-1 triumph over West Ham in December 2020.

It took a Kieran Trippier own goal, the defender deflecting the ball into the net midway through the first half, to cancel out Anthony Gordon’s early strike.

This was at least an improved performance from Chelsea, particularly in the second half where they played with an attacking initiative rarely seen under Lampard.

The young trio of Noni Madueke, Lewis Hall and substitute Carey Chukwuemeka especially played with the maturity to take charge of the game and drive their team on, after a first half in which Newcastle had made Chelsea look ordinary.

That has happened too often this season, especially at home where there have been six Premier League defeats and only 20 goals scored, the same number as Bournemouth and three fewer than relegated Leicester.

Lampard said he had recognised early in his tenure that leadership and cohesion were lacking among a bloated squad, and hoped that a new manager – expected to be Mauricio Pochettino – would be able to slim down and galvanise the first-team group.

“The standards collectively have dropped,” said Lampard. “I can be honest about that now that it’s my last game, I might not see some of them that much anymore.

“The standards of the collective for a club like Chelsea have to be at the maximum or you won’t be physically competitive enough, or you won’t be able to play at a high level… high speed in a way that the Premier League demands.

“If you’re not together in the dressing room, and you’re not vocal in the dressing room, driving each other and competitive because I want your place and you want mine. Any top team has to have that.

“When I came in very quickly I could see that wasn’t there enough. Of course a very good manager will help that, but everyone has to take responsibility, players and club alike.”

Chelsea’s form has nosedived since Lampard was appointed on April 6, with problems that had been apparent under former manager Graham Potter having only been exacerbated.

Todd Boehly’s whirlwind transfer activity during his first year of ownership has produced a squad of 34 first-team players that both managers have said proved hugely challenging to work with.

It has contributed to Chelsea recording a first bottom-half finish since 1996 and a record low tally of points and goals scored in the Premier League era.

“It’s clear there are things I would see that need to improve,” said Lampard. “A new manager will see with his own eyes and the beauty of it is he’ll have a pre-season to work with the team, they need that.

“We’re not physically competitive enough. Newcastle are and we haven’t been. That’s a strong opinion that I have.

“The squad has been too big, that’s the biggest challenge I’ve found day to day, coming in and working with big numbers, and with players who for whatever reason are disillusioned, whether for right or wrong that they’re not playing, (or) they might be leaving. Those situations can maybe be sorted out now and they have to be.”

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe, whose team had already secured qualification for next season’s Champions League ahead of the game at Stamford Bridge, said a first season in 20 years in Europe’s top competition would help loosen the transfer restrictions placed on his club by Financial Fair Play rules.

“FFP will impact what we do this summer,” he said. “Without Champions League football it would have been difficult to do much in the market at all. The fact we have that has given us a bit of a lift.

“The most important people are the players we already have. I’m the type of manager who tries to get the best out of everyone under our employment. We’re looking to add quality, we’re not huge payers of wages in the Premier League, it makes it hard to attract the very best players.

“We need more depth. With three games in a week next year we’re going to be stretched.”

Frank Lampard signed off as Chelsea manager with a 1-1 draw against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge that meant he failed to register a home win during his interim tenure.

It took a Kieran Trippier own goal, the defender deflecting the ball into the net midway through the first half, to cancel out Anthony Gordon’s early strike and spare the outgoing coach the ignominy of a ninth defeat in his 11 games in charge.

Newcastle had already sealed their objective and qualified for the Champions League, but they had not come to west London to hand Lampard the consolation of a victory to cap his brief reign, and so played with purpose and style.

For Chelsea at the end of an awful season, there were at last flashes of a brighter future with Noni Madueke, Lewis Hall and substitute Carey Chukwuemeka – none of them older than 21 – the outstanding trio.

Newcastle started the brighter. Allan Saint-Maximin ran at Trevoh Chalobah and, as the Chelsea defender backed off, slipped it through to Aleksander Isak, whose low shot was well blocked by the legs of Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Their opening goal was simple, but Chelsea made it so. A long ball out from the back was taken deftly on his left foot by Saint-Maximin who looked up and found Matt Targett overlapping on the left.

Cesar Azpilicueta and Chalobah seemed to leave the threat to one another to handle, and Targett had time to pick out Gordon, roaming free inside the six yard box, to tap home unmarked.

Newcastle were playing with the confidence of a side about to record their best finish in 20 years, and Isak nearly bent in a second minutes later, his arcing shot dropping just wide of Arrizabalaga’s left-hand post as Chelsea tottered.

Chelsea’s equaliser was a mix of brilliance from Raheem Sterling and misfortune for Trippier. Sterling collected the ball from a quick free-kick on the right of the penalty area and showed fine feet to slip inside and shoot left-footed low to the back post.

The effort looked to be going wide until a critical deflection off Trippier who, with help from Fabian Schar on the goalline, bundled the ball awkwardly with his arm past Martin Dubravka.

Newcastle should have restored their lead late in the half when Gordon’s header deflected off Hall into the path of Miguel Almiron. The forward has enjoyed his best season in black and white but could not cap it here with a goal, his effort instead ballooning high into the Matthew Harding Stand.

Chelsea, still unable to find the killer ball in the final third, looked rudderless in the first half.

Madueke tried to take matters into his own hands with a decent run and shot coming on off the right, but the strike dropped straight into Dubravka’s arms, before Almiron found himself in space again inside the box and produced a good, stretching save from Arrizabalaga.

The hosts were finishing the half the stronger. Hall’s deflected cross was met by Sterling, forcing Dubravka into a spectacular leaping save to his right, before Targett booted off the line from the England forward’s follow-up.

The final weeks of Chelsea’s campaign have largely been about looking for signs of promise among a squad whose confidence has been rocked, and Madueke gave a glimpsing reason for optimism when he cut from the right touchline and went close with a rocket shot early in the second half.

The January signing from PSV Eindhoven has started to find form after struggling for a place early in his Chelsea career.

Hall too at left-back has enjoyed a breakthrough year, and he went close with a shot that flew narrowly over the top after clever footwork to find space. It was his cutback 20 minutes from time that found Sterling free inside the box to shoot off target, that after fine work from the substitute Chukwuemeka who drove at Newcastle with purpose.

Sterling shot wide late on after the excellent Madueke had run the ball to the byline and crossed. Chelsea wanted a penalty for handball against Dan Burn but VAR ruled no infringement.

At the other end 17-year-old debutant Lewis Miley, on as a substitute, clipped the crossbar with a crisp drive from outside the box.

Joao Felix headed over with virtually the final action, perhaps a final touch in blue for the loan signing from Atletico Madrid.

But Chelsea could not find a home victory to send their outgoing manager off with. The rebuilding job starts here.

Eddie Howe does not want to be anywhere but Newcastle as he plots a route to lasting success after delivering Champions League football at the end of his first full season at the helm.

The 45-year-old will spend the summer working with the club’s owners and sporting director Dan Ashworth to bolster a squad already enhanced by spending in excess of £250million for the challenges which lie ahead.

In doing so he will have to make a series of tough decisions, but not about his own situation.

Asked if his long-term future lies at St James’ Park, Howe said: “Very much so, there is no other thought in my mind.

“For as long as I’m wanted, Newcastle is where I want to be. I’m hugely excited about next season and hopefully beyond.”

Howe has been linked repeatedly with the England job in recent years and his early success on Tyneside after his sterling work at Bournemouth has seen his reputation blossom.

However, he is not a man to rest on his laurels and knows what lies ahead may prove even more difficult as he attempts to balance the demands of domestic and European football.

He said: “It can be tougher [playing in Europe]. I don’t want to come across as negative or pessimistic in any way, or almost having that mindset going into next season. We need to go into next season full of positivity and full of what can be.

“We want to compete, we want to try to win a trophy, so we are very, very ambitious to move things on, but the challenges will get harder and we have to be better.”

Tyneside has been bathed in euphoria since Monday night’s 0-0 draw with Leicester ensured just a third Champions League campaign for the club and took the pressure off Sunday’s trip to Chelsea.

However, while he is determined to make an impression among Europe’s elite, Howe has no intention of forgetting the bread and butter of the Premier League.

He said: “I look at the Premier League as your first target, the foundation to your season, really, so we won’t be going away from all eyes on the Premier League, all eyes on making sure we start as well as we can and we try to be as consistent as we can.

“We won’t be taken off course in terms of our focus. The Champions League will start later on. It’s the foundation that we’re looking at and that’s the Premier League.”

If the quest for Europe was something of a pipe dream back in August, the desperation to end a trophy drought which dates back to 1969 remains after despite February’s Carabao Cup final defeat, and that will not be pushed into the background either.

Howe said: “We won’t look at the domestic cups and sacrifice them for the Champions League. That’s not my mindset sitting here now.

“We want to try to win a trophy and we came very close this year. We want to go one step further.”

Mauricio Pochettino has "everything to succeed" in his first season if appointed as Chelsea's new head coach, according to former Blues winger Willian.

Pochettino has been out of management since being sacked as Paris Saint-Germain boss at the end of last season, but he is reportedly close to taking over at Stamford Bridge ahead of next campaign.

His rumoured arrival comes at the end of a tumultuous season for Chelsea, who have sacked Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter on the way to their lowest-ever points tally in the Premier League era.

But Willian, who won two Premier League titles as well as the Europa League during his seven-year spell with the Blues, believes Pochettino is the man to bring success back to the club.

"He is a great manager," Willian told Stats Perform. "He did a great job while he was at Tottenham and he has everything to succeed.

"Chelsea is a giant club, it's a club that is always used to winning titles. Chelsea might not win anything one year, but the next year they'll be fighting for a title.

"Chelsea has been winning titles this way for a few years now, and sometimes they don't do well in a league, but they win a European trophy or a cup.

"Chelsea is a club that will always fight for titles, and I think they have everything to fight for a title again next year."

Chelsea have spent over £600million in the transfer market since Todd Boehly's consortium took control of the club, including £323m on acquiring eight players in the January window alone.

Willian feels the new signings will come good, adding: "I think the team has quality players.

"They have signed a lot of players, but you can see they have a lot of quality players and I think they have everything to succeed, yes."

Willian now plies his trade with Chelsea's west London rivals Fulham, who have secured a top-half finish in a successful first Premier League campaign following their promotion last term, sitting nine points above the Blues with one game remaining.

Willian remembers his time at Stamford Bridge fondly, though, claiming they were the best years of a career that has also included spells at Arsenal and Shakhtar Donetsk.

"Chelsea was the best moment of my career," Willian said. "It was almost eight years, I won titles, I was very happy.

"Even before I was there, I already dreamed of playing for Chelsea. I watched Chelsea games on TV and I had this dream of playing there, and I was able to make that dream come true.

"For me, those were the best years of my career. Those were incredible years."

Frank Lampard promised he would be back at Chelsea as a supporter after his tenure as interim manager ends on Sunday.

His side host Newcastle looking to give Lampard the first home win of his second spell in charge, and help the club’s record goalscorer sign off on a relative high after losing eight of his 10 games.

The former midfielder, who won three Premier League titles and the Champions League during his 13 years as a player in west London, did not return to Stamford Bridge after he was sacked as manager in January 2021 until April of this year to witness the team’s goalless draw against Liverpool.

That came two days after ex-boss Graham Potter was sacked 31 games into a five-year contract, and within days Lampard had been installed as temporary boss while the club searched for a permanent successor.

The 44-year-old insisted that it was only circumstances that had kept him away – the period coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic and his 12 months spent managing Everton – and that his visit for the Liverpool game, which he watched from the box of co-owner Todd Boehly, had been planned for weeks.

It was later reported that Lampard had been touted as a possible interim candidate by club officials several weeks earlier when Potter was seriously on the ropes after a run of poor results.

The game against Newcastle will round off a campaign that cannot come soon enough for fans after enduring comfortably the team’s worst season in 30 years.

Nevertheless, Lampard was hopeful of giving them something positive to take into the summer as he prepared to make his third exit from the club.

“I don’t want this to sound corny but I don’t feel like it is a goodbye,” said Lampard.

“I appreciate it, it will be end of season and end of my time back but normally when you leave a club you don’t have a hurrah as a manager. You are in one day out the next and that’s fine.

“This is the corny part, I will never feel like I am saying goodbye to the fans. My career as a player and as a coach first time around and this period and it is there.

“I live close enough to the stadium and I will be back at Chelsea many times and when you take on a managerial career it doesn’t mean you will be at a club you had 13 years at as a player forever.

“I’m quite calm about it and not too nostalgic about it but certainly do appreciate the fans’ support on Sunday. More than anything I would love to give them a performance to take away for the summer and feel a bit more positive about for sure.”

Lampard could again turn to Chelsea’s young prospects against Newcastle with a number of first-team players unavailable.

Reece James, N’Golo Kante and Benoit Badiashile have all played their final game of the campaign while Lampard was doubtful whether Mason Mount will be fit to make what could be a farewell appearance at Stamford Bridge.

Raheem Sterling is also a doubt after injuring a hamstring in the defeat to Manchester City.

The loss of James has been a particular blow for Lampard during his brief stay, with the England defender having been the standout performer this season as the team has struggled.

He was ruled out of the rest of the campaign after injuring a thigh in the Champions League home defeat to Real Madrid.

“(Reece) came out (to train on Wednesday) and went back in but because he had a little bit of an awareness but we hope the scan will show there is no real damage,” said Lampard. “It was just a little reminder that it is a bit too early to be out.”

Eddie Howe has vowed to adopt a siege mentality once again as Newcastle prepare for a first Champions League campaign in 20 years.

The Magpies have dragged themselves from the thick of a Premier League relegation fight when the club’s new owners took control in October 2021 to Europe’s top table in the space of a remarkable 19 months.

They have done so with the help of a £250million-plus investment, provided in large part by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which holds an 80 per cent stake, and the source of that wealth has prompted concerted criticism, with human rights campaign group Amnesty International in particular voicing concerns over “sportswashing”.

That focus is only likely to increase as they strengthen further before taking to the European stage, but head coach Howe has insisted his mission will not be derailed as a result.

He said: “We’ve been used to that from day one, to be honest. There’s been that feeling that popularity-wise, I don’t think we’re high up on people’s lists for various reasons.

“You accept that, I’ve got no issue with that and almost we’ve tried to use that for our benefit and for our gain, really.

“I’ve said we’re not here to be popular, we don’t care, really, about outside opinion. We very much care about inside opinion, we care about what the people of Newcastle think of us and what our supporters think.

“We’ve tried to act in the right way and make them proud, that’s been our biggest focus.”

Newcastle will bring down the curtain on a season which has delivered far more than they might have expected back in August at Chelsea on Sunday, where they will face a club which has spent around £600million since Todd Boehly completed his takeover last summer, but will end the campaign in the bottom half of the table.

That tends to suggest that money alone is not the key to success, and the way Howe has blended his new arrivals with the players he inherited and has since improved markedly has been equally, if not more important.

Asked if he regretted the focus on finance, the 45-year-old said: “I don’t really take it personally as in my achievement because it’s not really my achievement, it’s the achievement of the players who have committed to this season and what they’ve given. That would hurt me for them.

“I think the players deserve huge credit individually for some of the seasons that they’ve delivered and collectively for what they’ve done.

“I’ve said many times sitting here, it’s not about money. Money has played a part, it’s been a contributing factor, of course it has.

“But we’ve seen teams up and down the Premier League spend similar amounts of money and not have the success and not be as consistent as we have.”

Frank Lampard said turning around Chelsea’s fortunes will be the next manager’s problem as he prepares to bow out from his interim role after Sunday’s game against Newcastle.

The team’s wretched season slumped to a new low with a 4-1 thumping against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Thursday, the ninth defeat of Lampard’s 11 games in charge.

If results go against them on the final day they could finish as low as 14th and equal their worst placing in the Premier League era.

They are already guaranteed to end with their lowest points tally in the competition, with the fewest number of goals the club have scored in a Premier League campaign.

Mauricio Pochettino is expected to be appointed as the club’s next permanent manager in the coming days and his in-tray will include quickly slimming down a bloated first-team squad and installing cohesion in a team that has lost its way since Graham Potter was sacked in April.

Chelsea have won only once in the almost two months since Potter was removed seven months into a five-year contract, and the task of rediscovering the team’s form has seemingly grown more daunting with each defeat.

A remedy has proved beyond Lampard in his short time in charge, and he was asked whether the incoming manager will have the toughest job of any Chelsea boss in the last 20 years.

“It’s a good headline but I don’t know,” said Lampard. “It remains to be seen, I can’t jump into the future.

“I think it is a fantastic job because it is the Chelsea job and when I took it first time (in 2019) I came I probably got it it was because a lot of top managers didn’t want that, I know that for a fact.

“I enjoyed the process and I enjoyed coming in and I wish the new manager well.

“I don’t know… it’s his problem I guess – is that the headline you wanted?”

One of the hindering factors during Lampard’s reign has been the size of the squad, with 34 first-team players vying for selection following co-owner Todd Boehly’s whirlwind transfer activity during his first 12 months in control.

It has meant limited playing time for younger members of the squad, even those signed for large fees and with high expectations.

Carney Chukwuemeka joined from Aston Villa for £20million last summer but has struggled for minutes, whilst Noni Madueke arrived for £29m from PSV Eindhoven and has featured just 11 times.

Both players started the loss at Old Trafford and played 82 minutes before being substituted and Lampard said he was pleased with the application of players that came in having not been regulars in the side.

“I don’t want to go into individuals,” he said. “I thought Carney did really well (against United) coming in to midfield with personality. It has been one of the harder parts of my job with the numbers in the squad.

“Going with a team to win important games and working with the younger players who we haven’t seen before because normally there is a process and a pre-season.

“We haven’t had that time. I thought Carney did well, I thought Noni did pretty well again and the flip of that was that Azpi (Cesar Azpilicueta) was fantastic with his captaincy and attitude.

“It is 70 per cent of the game how you apply yourself and your attitude.”

Bruno Fernandes says this will be a positive campaign rather a successful one for Manchester United even if they win the FA Cup.

Erik ten Hag took over a side in disarray last summer after the disjointed Red Devils stumbled home sixth under interim Ralf Rangnick.

The Dutchman quickly improved the quality and mindset at United, who lifted February’s Carabao Cup and overcame some bumps in the road to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Thursday’s 4-1 win against Chelsea secured a top-four finish with a game to spare and this season could get even better if the beat Manchester City at Wembley on June 3.

 

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Asked if this season counts as a success already or whether it depends on winning the FA Cup, skipper Fernandes said: “No, no.

 

“It’s a positive season, not successful because successful is different for this club and for us players it has to be too.

“We did win a trophy. We get into the top four. Now we have another final but whatever happened in that final will not change anything about the season we have done.

“One game can’t define a season that has been long with so many games and we’ve been doing really well and we had our moments that we could have done better, obviously, because if not we would be in a better position than we are actually.

“But still we went to win the Carabao, we’re in the final of FA Cup, in Europa League could have been better, but it is what it is.

“Now, we have the chance to finish in the best way at home against Fulham and after we have time to think about City.”

Ten Hag said after beating Chelsea that this had been a “successful season” for United, but he is unlikely to be annoyed by Fernandes’ comments to the contrary.

After all, the 28-year-old is driving standards on and off the field as the 20-time champions look to launch a first sustained title bid since last winning the Premier League a decade ago.

“(Champions League qualification) is not a relief,” Fernandes said. “I think everyone was aware that it was really important for us to get the top four.

“I think at the same time everyone was really convinced that we will do it.

“We should have done it a little bit early in the season but obviously we had those two away games that we didn’t get any points and it complicated our counts.

“But we get it today and that’s the most important. We get into the top four.

 

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“After we couldn’t fight anymore for the league title we had to fight for our top four and we did it today.

 

“We are really happy to be in the Champions League next season. But obviously, it’s kind of an obligation for this club to be in these positions.”

Fernandes scored along with Casemiro, Anthony Martial, Fernandes as they saw off wasteful Chelsea 4-1 to put them third in the standings heading into the Premier League finale.

That result extended their unbeaten run at Old Trafford to 29 matches in all competitions and means victory against Fulham can see them equal the club record of 27 home wins in a season.

“I think everyone has seen that (bond with the fans) has been really important for us, not just this season,” Fernandes said about United’s home form.

“I think last season when we struggled, the fans have been always there to support us.

“So, we can’t be now saying that this season they’re there. Obviously, you feel a little bit more belief on their side, you feel more the connection, but they’ve always been there, they’ve been there.

“Since I arrived at the club I think they’ve been always supporting us and obviously when you get results, it’s always better. When you don’t, people are upset and we understand that.”

While United look to end the season on a high, Chelsea just want the campaign to end.

Already assured of finishing in the bottom half after an embarrassing season, interim boss Frank Lampard’s side were second best at Old Trafford.

Young midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka said ahead of the season finale at home to Newcastle: “We’re in a difficult period.

“There’s been a lot of transition and change but it’s clear we aren’t playing well enough at the moment. We need to give a lot more for the badge.”

Eddie Howe has admitted Newcastle have “massively over-achieved” this season and will have to spend big in the summer if they are to match it next time around.

The Magpies secured a return to the Champions League after a 20-year absence when Monday night’s 0-0 draw with Leicester guaranteed a top-four finish ahead of Sunday’s final-day trip to Chelsea.

That represents a significant upgrade on the club’s target at the start of the campaign, and it will require further investment from their Saudi-backed owners this summer to ensure they can compete on all fronts.

Asked if he was looking forward to that challenge, head coach Howe said: “Ask me in a few months. I don’t know if it’s something you look forward to, but the dynamic will have changed for us.

“I think we have massively over-achieved this year for where we were at the start of the season and to keep over-achieving – and that’s what we’re going to have to do to match the expectation – is going to be our biggest challenge.”

Newcastle have already spent in excess of £250million on players in the three transfer windows since Amanda Staveley’s consortium bought out Mike Ashley in October 2021, and while they have bought astutely and been richly rewarded, Howe is conscious that task will become more challenging.

They will shop this summer in a different market to the one the 45-year-old might have anticipated. The club has long-standing interest in West Ham’s Declan Rice and Leicester’s James Maddison with both tipped to be on the move this summer, although Rice in particular will have suitors, some with even deeper pockets, queuing up.

Asked if his wish-list would include “marquee” signings, Howe said: “Yes, there would be players we’d love to bring in that would be classified in that bracket, I’m sure.

“For me, it’s more about the role they can fulfil in the team – whether that’s viewed positively or as a marquee signing, then great.

“I’m not in my mind thinking, ‘We have to have one of those players that ticks that box for the supporters’. As much as I’d love to do that, it’s about finding the right player in the right position who I think makes us better.”

For all Newcastle’s new-found wealth, Howe has been at pains throughout his reign to stress that unbridled spending is simply not an option, and that the club will have to continue to invest shrewdly.

He said: “Unfortunately players don’t come cheap, especially good players. Yes, we are going to have to spend a certain amount of money. How much that is, I don’t know.

“I still don’t know what my budget is at this moment in time, but there will have to be some expenditure. It will have to be controlled. It will have to be under FFP restrictions, which we have worked under and will continue to work under. They are definitely impacting us and what we will be able to do.”

Howe will be without keeper Nick Pope at Stamford Bridge after he underwent surgery on a hand injury, and he will join Jamaal Lascelles, Javier Manquillo, Matt Ritchie, Joelinton and Joe Willock on the sidelines.

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