Behdad Eghbali and Chelsea sporting directors spotted as Mauricio Pochettino makes future claim

Behdad Eghbali, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley were spotted in attendance at the City Ground as Chelsea clinched a 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest. Nicolas Jackson fired the Blues to victory on Saturday afternoon, drawing level with Newcastle in the race for Europa League qualification.

Just a 10 goal-difference separates Chelsea from the Magpies in sixth place with two games left to play. The west Londoners will face Brighton on Wednesday evening, while Eddie Howe's side lock horns with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Then, on the final day of the season, Chelsea will welcome Bournemouth to Stamford Bridge and Newcastle will try their luck against Brentford at the G-Tech Community Stadium. After a slow start to the campaign, the Blues looked down and out in the race for European football.

As Chelsea struggled to climb the Premier League table, Mauricio Pochettino faced an uncertain future. But, the former Tottenham Hotspur boss has managed to transform his side's fortunes in recent weeks, so the club's shot-callers decided to take a closer look.

Eghbali, Stewart and Winstanley were all in attendance at the City Ground this weekend, placing a magnifying glass over Pochettino. When the cameras snapped a picture of the trio, they looked engrossed in debate.

The Blues' co-owner was stood between his co-sporting directors – whatever was said, Winstanley looked absolutely bemused with quite the frown on his face. Nevertheless, speaking to reporters after his audition, Pochettino issued a fresh update on his future.

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Ahead of the fixture, the Chelsea boss seemingly doubted whether he'd still be in charge next season. Pochettino said: "I never said I am not happy. I never said that. I said maybe I am not happy, maybe I am happy.

"But it's normal, the headline. Sometimes too much honesty when I'm talking but it's not a problem. I have one year more on my contract. Like I said yesterday, I'm thinking always in long-term, thinking that it's going to be for life here. We are professional, we try to win games.

"We are trying to make the owners happy and the staff. I am responsible for all of the staff at the training ground in Cobham. I try to make the players happy and the fans. That is my job. Easy [laughs]. So easy."

Then, when asked if he thinks Chelsea have finally turned a corner under his stewardship, Pochettino said: "You like to see all of the numbers and data. We were punished for the first 10 games, not because of our performances but because we were not clinical enough with the chances we created.

"In these first 10 games, to have between four and eight points more, I think today we would be in a completely different position. If you count the game we played against Tottenham [in November], that was number 10, we have played 26 games [since] and if you start to count from there I think we would be in the top four of five, for sure, with some very good performances.

"That is not because you asked me but to assess the last 26 games, if you put all the circumstances in there and you analyse and assess this season, we are in a clear way going high. Finishing strong is our challenge now to try and achieve to be in Europe next season and start the next season strongly."