Mauricio Pochettino believes he is under no greater pressure from the owners at Chelsea than in either of his two previous Premier League appointments.
The Argentinian enjoyed successful spells with Southampton and Tottenham, guiding the latter to the Champions League final in 2019, but has seen his new side struggle for goals and wins since he was appointed in the summer despite a huge transfer outlay.
He famously enjoyed a close relationship with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy prior to being sacked five months after taking the club to within a game of being crowned European champions.
At Southampton there was a similarly jovial working arrangement with executive chairman Nicola Cortese, who appointed Pochettino in order to try and stabilise Saints in the top flight, a task he achieved comfortably during his 18 months in charge.
Yet Chelsea has brought a different level of expectation with over £1billion spent on recruitment by co-owner Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium, an investment that is yet to yield results with the club mired in the bottom half of the table.
Pochettino said that far from making the task harder, the work that had gone on prior to his appointment at Stamford Bridge has made his job less complicated.
“It’s less hard than when we were in Southampton and Tottenham, trust me,” he said. “Believe me.
“The only thing we are missing is scoring goals, because the team is playing, if you see our first few months in Southampton and Tottenham, I think we (Chelsea) are playing much better.
“We are doing much better here, but we are missing the most important (thing) in football – to score. But it’s not harder than the previous experience.
“It was different (at Tottenham). The transformation was with us, in the way that we found the squad, with the club, we were working in six months, one year to change and design.
“Here, the plan was already made, and we arrived here and we tried to develop this project. When I arrived here, the plan had started to work. Now I am part of the plan. Of course I am responsible here also like in Tottenham, but I think it was a little bit different.”
Pochettino’s work at Southampton laid the foundation for his reputation in the Premier League, guiding the team to a 14th-place finish after replacing Nigel Adkins midway through their first season back in the top flight.
The decision of Cortese to dispense with Adkins, who had led the club up from League One, and replace him with a coach who was virtually unknown in England was controversial at the time.
However, the pair quickly built a relationship that underscored the manager’s first success in England.
“With Nicola we were really close,” said Pochettino. “He liked to invite me for coffee before a game in his office at St Mary’s.
“One day we were sitting on the sofa in his office and talking and talking, and my phone was like this (face down). We were talking about I don’t know what. Then somebody knocked the door and said, ‘we need to start the game in five minutes’.
“Nicola was like that. Daniel (Levy) sometimes arrived before the game to talk in the manager’s office. At the moment it’s not the case because in these five games at home, (the owners) came after.
“(Co-sporting directors) Paul (Winstanley) and Lawrence (Stewart) always come to say hello before. It’s a similar relationship (to Southampton and Tottenham). No more pressure now than in other places.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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