 Marcel Desailly has played down Chelsea's chances of returning to the top-four in the Premier League this season despite the arrival of highly-rayed manager Mauricio Pochettino. Chelsea news, exclusives and analysis Sign up Privacy Policy The Blues slumped to a 12th-place finish last season under Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard. It is hoped the appointment of former Paris Saint-Germain, Tottenham and Southampton manager Pochettino will turn the tide at Stamford Bridge, but Desailly is not convinced. Chelsea have continued their remarkable spending spree under Todd Boehly by signing Robert Sanchez, Axel Disasi, Lesley Ugochukwu, Nicolas Jackson and Kendry Paez this summer. But World Cup winner Desailly still believes Pochettino has a 'medium to long-term project' on his hands and will struggle to get Chelsea back into the top-four this season. 'The people who are invested in Chelsea know that this is a medium to long-term process before they can come back to top-four,' former Blues defender Desailly told BoyleSports. 'It is a two to three-year project before getting back into the system. You need to build the players and increase their value, get them up to speed with the project. Mauricio Pochettino arrived at Stamford Bridge earlier in the summer (Picture: Getty) 'I want Chelsea to finish top-four because I am a fan, but I don't think it will happen when you look at their rivals right now. Chelsea are a team that need to build up again that winning mentality. 'I don't mind about how much they spent because they know what they're doing when you look at the length of the investment. I don't think they will do it this season.' Chelsea, who enjoyed an unbeaten pre-season under Pochettino, kick-start their 2023-24 campaign on Sunday against Liverpool. MORE : Chelsea target Moises Caicedo left out of Brighton's final pre-season friendly For more stories like this, check our spor){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Marcel Desailly has played down Chelsea’s chances of returning to the top-four in the Premier League this season despite the arrival of highly-rayed manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Chelsea news, exclusives and analysis
The Blues slumped to a 12th-place finish last season under Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard.
It is hoped the appointment of former Paris Saint-Germain, Tottenham and Southampton manager Pochettino will turn the tide at Stamford Bridge, but Desailly is not convinced.