Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Mauricio Pochettino said he is “desperate” to lift silverware at Chelsea after leading them into the Carabao Cup final with an emphatic win against Middlesbrough.
Pochettino, who won three trophies when he was in charge of Paris Saint-Germain, is still waiting for his first major honour in English football. However he was full of optimism after Chelsea recovered from their 1-0 deficit in the first leg of the semi-final by thrashing the Championship side at Stamford Bridge.
Related: Chelsea smash six past Middlesbrough to reach Carabao Cup final in style
The victory carried Chelsea into their first final under the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership and gives Pochettino a shot of winning something during his first season in charge. Liverpool or Fulham await in the final.
“I’m desperate to win a title here,” the head coach said. “We won in one and a half years in Paris three trophies and we want to win here. I’m desperate to win. It’s really important for us. We are going to have Fulham or Liverpool, two amazing teams, but now is the moment to believe that we can win. It’s an important step.”
Pochettino, who urged Chelsea to be ready for Aston Villa in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday, feels that reaching the final will boost his side’s belief. “This young team with this type of experience, to go to Wembley, we are going to build our trust and confidence and our mentality,” he said.
“The mentality of the club is amazing, the culture is to win but we are a new team. We need to build trust and feel what it means to go to Wembley and play a final.”
Pochettino removed Mykhailo Mudryk at half-time because he was concerned that the winger was going to pick up a second booking. “If you watch the game he got a yellow card,” the Argentinian said. “Then there was an action at the end of the first half that was too risky, if he touched the opponent he would have got a second yellow and we didn’t want to take a risk. It wasn’t necessary to risk having him on. That is why we changed him.”
