Carney Chukwuemeka: Chelsea are on track under Mauricio Pochettino and beating Manchester United is a big lift

Carney Chukwuemeka says Chelsea are still on track to achieve their target this season which is to secure European football and win a trophy. The England under-21 star played the final 19 minutes of Chelsea’s chaotic 4-3 win against Manchester United on Wednesday night.

The win keeps Mauricio Pochettino’s side within touching distance of West Ham in seventh spot with a game in hand. If they can find some consistency and avoid drawing against teams like Burnley at home, then Europe could still be easily achieved.

Then there is that jaw-dropping trip to Wembley to face Pep Gaurdiola’s Manchester City. Chelsea have already held them twice in the league and the Wembley game is for a ticket to the final, something Chukwuemeka is looking forward to.

He told LondonWorld: “That was the goal at the beginning of the season, obviously to be back in Europe and then to win a trophy as well and I think we have two big opportunities to do so and we will keep working hard towards achieving it.

“This is a big lift as obviously we wanted to win the Burnley game and we drew that but now we’ve gone and beat United at home so it's a big lift. We have some big games coming this month so we now have to focus on the next one. Next training and next game.”

Chelsea manager Pochettino splits opinion among the fans. They have conceded 50 Premier League goals, stuck in 10th for large parts of the campaign and the football, even though is an improvement of what it was last season, is still not entirely convincing for many.

For a man hired because of his reputation for getting the best out of young players, a lot of them have been inconsistent at best but Chukwuemeka says everyone should back the manager to get the club back to where it belongs. He added that results like yesterday go a long way to help.

Chukwuemeka said: “He’s come in to try and get Chelsea to where we need to be really so obviously any three points is very important to him and to us as players. So I’m definitely over the moon.”

For Pochettino there is no doubt that injuries have dealt him a devastating blow this campaign, across the squad Chelsea have suffered almost 50 different injuries including Chukwuemeka who started the season on form, scored his first goal at West Ham and minutes later he was on crutches.

He admitted the frustration of injuries was not only the pain you feel, but also the disruption it does to your rhythm and momentum.

He concluded: “No one likes getting injured because it's hard to build momentum and rhythm. But I just always remember that God is always with me and everything happens for a reason. And I have to keep my head up and keep going.

“I just keep praying and their my family as well. They help a lot and they keep me focused and keep me happy as well.”

Chukwuemeka and Chelsea will hope that win against United was not another false dawn and that they can continue to climb up the league table when they travel to Sheffield United this weekend.