Chelsea players feeling the pressure of poor results – Pochettino

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino says “pressure” is inevitable when results are not available as his side face an uphill battle to qualify for European football this season.

Halfway through Pochettino's first season in charge at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea are 10th in the Premier League – four points behind ninth-placed West Ham – and will need to improve their results or face another season in mid-table.

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“They know exactly what we expect from them,” Pochettino told a press conference on Friday. “We are talking about young players, they have to be in a place where they feel comfortable, where they feel confident. We cannot forget that we are at a club like Chelsea. The pressure is enormous. We have to win, and when you don't, I don't win, you feel the pressure.

“We know what we need to do. We know what we're doing, but it's just a matter of time — it might take a year, it might take six months — but we're certainly giving something that will pay.”

Pochettino promised Chelsea would compete for Champions League qualification in the future, but refused to put a time frame on when he expected to do so and appeared to admit it is unlikely to happen this season.

“We will challenge [for Champions League qualification places], Yes. Maybe not now, but in the future,” he said.

On Sunday, Chelsea travel to face Everton, who have won two of their three matches since being stripped of 10 points for breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules.

Striker Christopher Nkunku is unlikely to make his Chelsea debut this weekend, the Argentina manager has said, as he continues to recover from a knee injury he suffered in pre-season .