Begovic played for Chelsea for two seasons between 2015 and 2017. Now at QPR, the Bosnian is a regular media pundit and this week queried why ‘Chelsea are in a transition’ in contrast to when he was at the club.

Some of Begovic’s comments were put to Pochettino by journalists at Cobham and our head coach explained why comparisons between the past and the present are futile.

‘It’s a different project,’ the head coach stressed.

‘We are talking about a different Chelsea to the one I saw when I was at Tottenham and Southampton. Better or worse, we cannot say, but it’s a different project, in different circumstances. We cannot compare with the past. I don’t think that’s fair.

‘We have to take care about how we evolve the process, and how we develop our ideas. What I want to explain is that the fans want to win, because in the past, Chelsea is about winning. We need to accelerate the process because Chelsea is about winning.

‘We want to win, but I understand the process is completely different to the past. The club has a different approach to the game, to the philosophy, the ideas. We have a young squad, with very talented players that need time to perform. For sure we have one of the best squads, but we need time.’

Having said all that, Pochettino remains adamant we should not settle for anything less than European football this season, with the target remaining a top-four spot.

Early season results, if not performances, have been mixed, and Pochettino detailed why he will not accept the youthfulness of our squad as an excuse for subpar results.

‘Players need to feel pressure,’ he underlined.

‘We are going to push them to perform, in the right way. We are helping them. We accept their circumstance, but at the same time we are tough pushing them.

‘We need to perform. We are here to perform. We are not here to have a good time.’