Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has refused to celebrate the Blues clinching sixth place in the Premier League after Sunday’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.
A first Chelsea goal for Moses Caicedo and a Raheem Sterling strike handed the West London outfit their fifth straight win which was a positive end to the season.
Chelsea struggled with consistent results during the course of the season owing to multiple injuries and an inexperienced squad, and spent much time in the bottom half of the table.
They however picked up steam and have now been able to secure a spot in the UEFA Europa League next season.
“We are not going to celebrate [finishing sixth] because we know the history of Chelsea. But this is the first step to achieving bigger things after that,” Pochettino stated.
“We have already built and consolidated the basis, and from there, we have to improve.
“We have a squad that is young but they are now more experienced in the Premier League and we now have to be better next season.”
Five wins in a row to finish the season. 👏#CFC | #CheBou pic.twitter.com/VOvLuGPWPQ
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 19, 2024
Pochettino went on to praise his players for pulling through the difficult circumstances.
“I am so pleased and so proud of the players because you can see at the end of the game, players who have played more, players who have played less, players who were injured, the way they came to hug me,” he added.
“I think it was very nice, talking about the relationships that we have, where sometimes we are tough with them and sometimes we make our choices but we feel so proud in the way they have the right idea and the way they are working.
“Even in tough moments during the season, they always show respect to us and the belief in the way we present in our job and the way we work.”
Chelsea were close to lifting silverware during the season but lost the EFL Cup final 1-0 to Liverpool after extra time.
