Mauricio Pochettino is confident he still has the backing of the board

Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali were present at Wembley Stadium for the Carabao Cup final defeat and offered support to Mauricio Pochettino in the aftermath of the disappointing loss.

Despite mounting pressure, Pochettino maintains that he has the backing of Chelsea’s owners. He acknowledges the challenge of turning the club’s fortunes around and refutes claims that his future hinges solely on European qualification for the next season.

Following the defeat, Pochettino revealed his emotional state and recounted being consoled by Boehly and Eghbali at Wembley. Boehly further extended his support with a supportive text message, while Pochettino met with Eghbali for dinner in central London later that evening.

As Chelsea faces a crucial FA Cup tie against Leeds, Pochettino understands the significance of the match and the potential implications for his tenure should they fail to advance.

But Pochettino said: “I feel the support from them. I cannot lie to you. When I went up the steps at Wembley, I was so upset. Nearly crying. When I arrived there, it was so difficult to stop myself.

“I think people are clever enough to understand. Of course we wanted to win the Carabao Cup. We want to win the FA Cup. We want to win the Premier League. Now it’s tough. It’s the reality but before the start of the season it was always the objective.

“And now our reality is to see if we can qualify to play in Europe next season but of course it’s going to be tough because of the circumstances and because of the reality.”

But when asked whether he had to qualify for Europe to keep his job, Pochettino replied: “From who? From the sporting directors and the owners? No. I don’t remember, I don’t.”

He added: “We are starting to build something but it’s not three points. Always we are always going to need time. That is why Chelsea is different and we have to accept that.‌

“Liverpool, I think, spent four years and Klopp didn’t win a title and he was given the support by the club and to keep going, changing players, changing the way to play. Now, they are getting what they deserve because of that.

“When we decided to come here, no-one put the gun to our head and said: ‘You need to sign here.’ But now it is not in my hands. We have a very good relationship with the owners, with the sporting directors. It is up to them to trust or not.”