Mauricio Pochettino was formally unveiled as manager at Stamford Bridge on Friday.
Mauricio Pochettino will not be drawn on whether he will push for Chelsea to reunite him with England captain Harry Kane as he was formally unveiled as manager at Stamford Bridge.
The pair enjoyed success during their days together at Tottenham, reaching the Champions League final in 2019 and the Argentine has been pressed on whether he would look to Kane to try and revive his new side’s ailing attack.
Chelsea scored just 38 league goals last season, their worst return in almost a century, as they finished a miserable 12th in the Premier League.
They have already added RB Leipzig forwards Christopher Nkunka and Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal, and the manager said the club is still looking to do more business to improve their front line.
But he stopped short of asking the club to bid for Kane, who scored 30 times in the league last season and was the subject of Bayern Munich’s interest as Spurs failed to qualify for Europe.
“You are talking about one of the best strikers in the world,” said Pochettino. “I think it’s too unfair to talk (about a player at another club). The most important thing is that the fans are not stupid. They are so smart. They know that my relationship with him has always been wonderful.
“I saw him when he was young and he grew up and he achieved everything he achieved. We have a great relationship.
“At the moment we are thinking (in the transfer market) in a different way. We don’t think so. We are working hard to bring good quality to the team.
“We are working on it and we still have time to work. We will definitely add players who can score and find the best way to play.”
The club have embarked on a major overhaul of their squad since the transfer window reopened, with players leaving to slim down the squad and reduce wage costs.
Mason Mount and N’Golo Kante have so far led the exodus of nine first-team players to leave, but the club remain in the market for recruits as they look to address last season’s form crisis in front of goal.
“Football is really dynamic,” Pochettino said. “What we have today may be gone tomorrow. We have to be ready if we need more or not, or maybe we will go through the preseason and realize that we need to improve in different positions or add more players who can score.
“It’s really dynamic and we’ll assess the situation every day.”
The manager added that Chelsea’s owners would have to check in with him before visiting the Stamford Bridge dressing room as he was formally unveiled as the club’s new manager.
Co-controlling owner Todd Boehly frequently entered the dressing room under multiple head coaches last season and told the players after April’s defeat to Brighton that their season had been “embarrassing”.
Pochettino started work at Cobham on Monday just over a month after being confirmed as the permanent successor to Graham Potter, who was sacked by Boehly just seven months after his appointment.
The Argentinian is tasked with resurrecting the club after they suffered their worst season in 29 years last campaign, finishing 12th and failing to mount a credible challenge for silverware despite owner consortium Clearlake Capital spending over £600m on transfers.
Pochettino said he felt it was his responsibility to create the kind of culture where people clearly understood their place and function in the wider collective.
“We have to understand that they own the football club,” he said when asked if the hierarchy would be welcome on his watch to address the players after the match.
“We have to respect that. It’s about talking about how we have to behave because that’s the important thing.
“Football culture in England is very understandable. My responsibility is also to help and complement our knowledge and skills to create this culture where everyone knows how to behave in different situations.
“For me, it is more than welcome when the owner comes to the dressing room, to the training ground. But they always need to communicate with me, I need to know and prepare people to receive.
“It’s really strange here (in the dressing room) in England. Maybe in another country it is different, but here it is like this.
“The manager has a certain influence in all football clubs, on the fans, on the players, on the staff and the media. Overall, we have to create it. We are here to guide all the people who are involved in this football club to try to create the best atmosphere and try to work and perform at our best.
“I am more than happy when they are near us. But they are the owners. Players, fans, media – the coach is the one who decides how it will work in the dressing room, on the pitch, in training. We are also creating a line with the sporting directors that we will follow.”
Former captain John Terry said on Twitter on Friday that he had rejoined the club working with the academy.
The 42-year-old won five Premier League titles and the 2012 Champions League with Chelsea.
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