'Easy to find numbers to kill someone' - Mauricio Pochettino bizarrely claims his struggling Chelsea side should be fourth in the Premier League 'if you look at the data' as he insists Blues can win the title

Pochettino argued that 'today's data' proved how well his side were performing and that the league table did not reflect that. The Blues boss has come under heavy criticism from his own fans but he remains defiant that his side are on the path to winning a title in the near future. Pressure is mounting following heavy investment in the summer, but Pochettino is calling for patience.

Ahead of Saturday's game against Burnley, Pochettino said: "We know what we are doing, and one day, we will win the Premier League. If not, another coaching staff will arrive to do it because this process needs to happen and in the best way. Today’s data puts us in the table in the top four. But for different reasons we are not.

"It is easy to find data and numbers to kill someone. But, when the data is good and for different reasons reflects we are not getting the results we deserve, we must trust in the process."

Pochettino will know more than most that football is often a results business and that ultimately the number of points is the most important piece of data. Despite his claim that Chelsea should be in the top four, they are 17 points short of Villa's 56 points and have not looked like breaking into any of the European qualification spots this season, let alone the Champions League. Should Pochettino's side drop any more points and fall further off the pace against Burnley, the ever-unstable Chelsea hierarchy may feel less convinced by his argument.

Pochettino explained that he thought this Chelsea side will win the Premier League one day but it is uncertain whether he will be the man to lead them to that title. The Argentinian has his work cut out to win over many of the Blues faithful who are growing frustrated and must start with a positive result against the Clarets.