Every word Mauricio Pochettino said on Chelsea form, Reece James, Ben Chilwell injury, Brighton

Mauricio Pochettino faced the media on Tuesday ahead of Chelsea's penultimate match of the season against Brighton at the Amex Stadium.

The Blues are currently on a three-game winning streak as they approach the end of the 2023/24 season. Just a few days ago, Pochettino led his side to a dramatic 3-2 victory against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

There is no real time for Pochettino to reflect on the win, though, with a trip to the seaside tomorrow evening. Here is every word Pochettino had to say...

Team news?

"I think it was very good news last game to have so many players back on track. Chilly [Ben Chilwell] is really close but I think he's not 100 per cent maybe to be part of the squad. Carney Chukwuemeka, also.

"But we need to assess if they can or cannot be part of the squad for tomorrow. If not, maybe for the weekend."

Will anyone else return before the end of the season?

"I don't think so because it's now only Romeo Lavia, Enzo Fernandez, Wesley Fofana and Robert Sanchez. And that's it. No.

"It is a very positive thing to finish the season with only a few players injured. It's good news to recover the players and be positive to start the pre-season with almost all of the players fit to train."

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Is the Brighton game a real opportunity for your European hopes?

"It is really important to remain strong, with the mentality and of course really believe we can get [European qualification]. It's true that the last two games are going to be really tough.

"Tomorrow we play Brighton who are a very good team and it is going to be really tough to play. And then Bournemouth at home. But always the most important thing is to believe and the team is doing well in the second part of the season, or maybe the last 26 or 27 games we are doing really, really well.

"We need to keep in this way. Trying to always do our best – compete and improving. It is going to be tough but I think we really believe we can compete well in the last two games and have the possibility to get to Europe. That would be amazing for us."

Will European football define your season, or has it been successful either way?

"I don't know because I think people are talking a lot this season, many things. If you ask me after all the circumstances we were living in the last 10 months, to get to Europe would be a very good thing for us.

"But, like always, we are going to judge people because of the result, or we are going to judge people because of the process, put in all the circumstances we had. That is a difficult thing to judge.

"I don't want to be repetitive but the history of Chelsea is too much. Even if we win the next two games, it is not going to be a successful season if we are talking about the history of Chelsea. With all the circumstances? It can be a very good season."

Are you any clearer on your future and are you able to start planning yet?

"We are planning. We are working. I think we cannot take some comment from my side to put in a negative way because I always try to be positive to try and translate my feelings to you and the people.

"But I never say that we were not thinking in the future. We are thinking in the future. The plan is there to start the pre-season, the data and everything, how we are going to start and then it is not in my hands to be here or not to be here."

Are you confident with the foundations you've built that next season you can push on to the top-four?

"I think we need to finish this season. The moment we finish this season, to finish in a positive way is always important for next season. To be able to finish well and to get Europe, for sure, we can start the next season and in a different position to what we were in this season."

Your 50th game in charge of Chelsea tomorrow. Looking back, have you enjoyed it?

"I have really enjoyed it. Because there are so many new things that I was living in this football club. Yes, really enjoyed [it]. We are much better now, the coaching staff.

"When you win games, you enjoy more and when you have some problems we had this season – yes, the proof if you have the capacity to deal with all the negative circumstances. In the whole season, I always keep my mood; always smiling, always positive. Even when the team had 14 players out because of injuries and I was positive because it's in my nature.

"To keep this balance is the important thing, with the experience and capacity because we really believe in ourselves. It's in the way we need to behave in a very difficult season for everyone. To build a new project is always going to be tough. You need patience and time."

How good is it to have a selection headache again?

"No, because the players that returned from injuries need time. It's clear that we need to play and to start the games with players that can cope with the 90 minutes and then we can see if the injured players can cope with some minutes to play.

"That is the problem. We have the names now and the bodies but they are not really 100 per cent to play from the beginning and cope with the pressure and demands."

Brighton tomorrow, what do you admire about Roberto De Zerbi and the type of football he likes to play?

"I think yes, I really enjoy every time we have met and play. I really like the way he approaches the game. Brighton is doing fantastic – you can see that in the last few seasons with the way they are playing and achieving things.

"He is a fantastic coach. Still, for sure, when the moment arrives he will have the possibility to be in a different position for sure. He will get what he deserves. Brighton are doing fantastic, also, with the potential of Brighton they are doing fantastic things."

With a very young squad, you've reached a cup final, a semi-final and you might get into Europe. What is a successful season?

"The problem in England, what happens, if after 10 games you are at the top and winning games, what happens after is relative. The problem is we are punished because of the first 10 games.

"If we count after 10 games, I think we are in the top four. That is the problem because you are punished because of the first 10 games.

"Look, I want to be positive. I don't want to talk anymore. I don't want to say we are young and we have had to cope with injuries. If not, about the evolution in different aspects of the game and to evolve and be positive.

"Now it is like we are stuck, like the song of Coldplay, stuck and reverse. We are stuck in every single press conference. Stuck and going back in reverse. You remember the song? I am a fan [of Coldplay]. The song is Fix You."

Do you think the fans have taken to you this season?

"I don't know. That is a question for them. No? In Tottenham, the first season was also tough. For me, what I don't like because of the way we are, we are not fake people. We are not going to say something when we still need to create a link, an emotional link.

"It's easy for me to arrive and after the first game, kiss the badge. I respect people who can do this. But it is not in my nature. I want to create real feelings.

"If we arrive one day and we start to feel the love between the fans and us, it is going to be real. Not fake because we are not fake people.

"We need the fans to be with the team and create a good energy but I cannot tell the fans that they need to love me. They are going to love me only when they think we are serious people, responsible and that we want the best for the club.

"Of course I care about the fans. I care about the owners, the players, the club and the people. But it is about time to build an honest relationship. I am in football because I love what I am doing because it is not my job, it is a passion and my obsession.

"But I don't want to show a thing I am not feeling and I don't want people to show me things they don't feel. They are not in the moment in love with me or with us and I have full respect because I don't want fake love – another song [laughs].

"We need to win games, play well. The fans need to enjoy in the stadium to create this link with us. The most important thing for us is to be very respectful with the fans, with the club, the owners and the staff. Yes, little by little, for sure, with time, we are going to get the result the club deserves and create a good relationship. No doubt."

Is it important to finish the season winning games?

"Yes, of course. Football is about the result and more today. Today, people think with the result: 'Ah, he is doing a great job', but sometimes the result does not arrive and it's for a reason you cannot explain.

"I think the next two games are really important to finish well and the possibility to get into Europe. And to start the next season with a dry feeling, not like this season where everything was negative."

Since the 26th of December, only three teams have picked up more points than Chelsea – Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool. How excited are you for next season?

"[Claps and journalists laugh]. Yes, excited. We have players that are improving, they are getting more mature, living their first experience in the Premier League.

"Yes, we concede a lot of goals. Why? Because the defensive line was never established and then the keeper came from MLS and is doing fantastic but he is growing. He is discovering feelings like a player in the toughest competition, the Premier League.

"I want to be honest with you and the fans. Yes, there is too much the history of Chelsea. Today, that is impossible and that is the truth. But with time, for sure, we will match and that is my wish. We are working for that.

"Sometimes maybe the fans are seeing what we are doing. But at the moment it is difficult. But I think we are doing a fantastic job because when the circumstances were really bad, to keep calm and keep pushing and really believe in the way we are doing this season."

Do you think Reece James can get in Gareth Southgate's England squad?

"Yes. He is training really well and now we need to control the game-time because we want him to finish the season really, really strong. He is doing really well and tomorrow we hope he can play more than he did against Nottingham Forest."