Africa-Press – Mauritius. Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly says the team’s recent form is proof the club’s plan is “coming together” under Mauricio Pochettino.
The Blues are unbeaten in their past three matches, beating West Ham and Tottenham after a spirited draw at Aston Villa.
Those results have helped Chelsea climb up to seventh in the Premier League, which could secure European football next season, while they are just two points behind sixth-placed Newcastle.
Boehly was accused of making the club a “laughing stock” by a supporters’ group in March but the American says the board’s plans are starting to come to fruition.
Boehly said: “We’ve seen the last two and a half games… in the second half at Aston Villa [2-2 draw] and Tottenham [2-0 win] and West Ham [5-0 win] where we played beautiful football.
“It was so fluid, it was exactly the way we drew it up, when we came out of the back, built up and moved up the pitch, [it was] very organised and the number of shots we had.
“In those two and a half games, you could really start to see what we were working on coming together.”
Boehly says recent performances have changed the “commentary” about the club.
Despite the on-field improvements, doubts remain over Pochettino’s future at Stamford Bridge.
The former Tottenham boss signed a two-year deal with the club last summer but said earlier this month he had been given no assurances over his future.
“I wanted to say that it is enough with this type of rumours, that if I have one year more [under] contract here and no-one says nothing [to me], [I] suppose I’m going to be here,” the Argentine said.
Chelsea’s next game is at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, before they travel to Brighton on May 15 and host Bournemouth on the final day of the season (May 19).
Meanwhile, manager Nuno Espirito has criticised the timing of Nottingham Forest’s appeal defeat against their four-point deduction.
Forest lost their appeal against breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability Rules (PSR) this week, with an independent three-person board upholding the original decision.
It means they remain in 17th place, three points above the relegation zone with two games to play.
Nuno said he had not understood every reason for the rejection as he had focused on keeping Forest in the Premier League – and will digest everything at the end of the season – but was still unhappy with the timing,
“I think the integrity of the league was harmed by all these issues that happened with the points deductions, especially the timing,” he said before Saturday’s visit of Chelsea.
“Two games to go is when comes, the decision, and you wonder why it didn’t come before? Then you start wondering why is this the decision? It will impact on the other clubs also.
Nuno said there are “still things to be explained” at the end of the season.
He added: “Why the decision came so late? Why we didn’t win the appeal? All these issues I would personally would love to know [the answer to].”
The 17-page appeal verdict document outlined by the appeal board arrived at the “unanimous” decision to uphold the original ruling by the commission, describing it as “commendably clear and comprehensive”.
“Some of the criticisms of the [original] decision have involved a minute examination of the words used by the commission,” the board said of Forest’s appeal.
“Decisions such as these should not be subjected to microscopic forensic examination and interpreted as if they were statutes which have been drafted by parliamentary counsel.
“Allegations of infelicities of language or errors which are not material to the ultimate decision add to the complexity and costs of proceedings and are rarely likely to lead to a successful challenge of a decision.”
Premier League clubs also voted for the timeframe for PSR cases to be resolved, with Forest’s case initially handled within the 12-week fast track period, designed to deal with cases and hand out he punishments in the same season.
Given the process was independent the Premier League had no control over the overall appeal timeframe.
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