'He's my friend': Everything Mauricio Pochettino said about 61-year-old manager recently linked to Chelsea job

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino says he respects Jose Mourinho, who is widely credited with instilling a winning mentality at Chelsea when he arrived at the club in 2004.

The 61-year-old manager won three league titles, one FA Cup, and three League Cups in his first three years at the club. Pochettino's Chelsea have conceded 43 goals in 26 league games, to put it into context, Mourinho's Chelsea conceded only 15 goals in the entire 2004-2005 league season. 

A section of Chelsea fans have been calling for Mourinho's return during games, but Pochettino who has been tasked with a new project says the circumstances are just different and not many can do a better job than he's doing now.

He told reporters ahead of the Newcastle game on Monday night: “I respect Jose. He’s my friend and he was amazing for this club. Circumstances are circumstances. We need to keep pushing, believing in us, and accepting all the things that came from the fans. Of course, I respect the fans." 

Chelsea have a plus-one goal difference and 19 points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa. Securing Champions League football for next season is almost impossible but the former PSG manager insists the players are behind and will be happy to urge them to management if they felt he wasn't up to the task. 

He added: “You need to ask the players. If the players believe that with another coach they’ll do better, I am the first to say: ‘Hey, they can go and talk with the owner and the sporting director.’

“Today is a different project”, he said. “It’s a different Chelsea. If you are going to judge us by analysing the situation and comparing it with the past of Chelsea, no one will succeed. The fans are not going to love another coach any more [than me]. It’s a new project, and people need to understand."

The Blues take on Newcastle United tonight, boosted by the fact that they haven't lost a Premier League home fixture in the month of March since 2001, a run of 37 matches.