Mauricio Pochettino hits out at 'stupid' rumours around his future at Chelsea after 2-0 win over Tottenham - but admits he 'doesn't know' if he will be in charge next season

Mauricio Pochettino blasted ‘stupid rumours’ surrounding his position as Chelsea manager after Thursday’s win over Tottenham, adding that it is down to the club to clarify his future.

Pochettino conceded he does not know what the hierarchy have planned this summer – when a review of the season is set to take place – but the 52-year-old Argentine reminded his critics that he has a year to run on his contract which he intends on fulfilling.

Chelsea won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge despite being decimated by so many injuries that they could not name a single senior outfielder on their substitutes’ bench, and Pochettino felt this was further proof that this billion-pound project is in safe hands with him.

West Ham are their next Premier League visitors on Sunday with Chelsea looking to move a step closer to securing a European place and Pochettino said of the ongoing scrutiny on his position: ‘Enough with these types of rumours.

‘If I have one more year on my contract here, and no one says nothing, suppose that I am going to be here – only if then we finish the season and someone says to me “ciao”.

‘Because we don’t know at the moment. I suppose I have one more year on my contract and that I am going to be here. 

'But enough about the stupid rumours. You need to ask the club if they want me to keep going or not.’

It was a bullish response from Pochettino, who has spent most of this season under pressure.

Thursday showed how Chelsea’s players are playing for him. That includes the Cobham graduates such as Alfie Gilchrist, the 20-year-old who pocketed Heung-min Son on his first Premier League start at home, and Trevoh Chalobah, who opened the scoring with a terrific header. Nicolas Jackson later completed the scoreline against Tottenham.

Pochettino went on to insist there is an attribute more valuable than talent as he continued: ‘The most important thing we can learn today is that it is not about quality because when you are at Chelsea, we assume you have the quality. The most important thing is that you go and work for the team.

'If you go there and you don’t compete, or your level is only 50 per cent, I think it is better with someone with less quality, maybe younger, but competing at their best, 100 per cent.'

Pochettino added that performance-wise, Chelsea are a top-four team. On ending the season with four Premier League games against West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Bournemouth – all winnable on paper – Pochettino said: ‘These are the most dangerous games because now we have to keep the same mentality.’