Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano “not surprised” by Chelsea’s awful start under Pochettino

CaughtOffside columnist Fabrizio Romano says he is “not surprised” by how much Chelsea are struggling at the moment as their difficult start under new manager Mauricio Pochettino continued with a 1-0 home defeat against Aston Villa yesterday.

Writing for the Daily Briefing, Romano explained that this was always going to be a project that would take time, and called for Chelsea fans to be patient with this group of young players, who were never likely to be able to start producing top performances and results after just a couple of months.

Still, Romano also acknowledged that Chelsea are a club with high standards and expectations, so this is not a level they’re used to, but even so, it seems there is no hint yet that Pochettino could be under any pressure in the job.

The Argentine only took over in the summer and has long been highly regarded as one of Europe’s top coaches, so he’s surely going to be given time to turn things around and work with developing this impressive roster of top young players.

“Mauricio Pochettino’s difficult start at Chelsea continued yesterday with a 1-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa. It’s not his fault, it’s the general situation at the club, and he made it clear before the Villa game that this is a long-term project,” Romano said.

“Still, we have to acknowledge that they’ve lost another game and it’s not an easy moment for Chelsea. Ollie Watkins scored the winner at Stamford Bridge, and the result leaves the Blues 14th in the table with just one win and just five goals scored in their opening six games.

“No one is happy with the current situation, but the message from the club remains the same – this is a long-term project, it’s a process that will take time.

“I can honestly say I’m not surprised by