Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that the lack of experience in his team may be a contributing factor to Chelsea’s struggles this season. 

The Blues have an average age of 23.5 years according to Transfer Mrkt, with Thiago Silva (39), Marcus Bettinelli (32), and Raheem Sterling (29), the only players with serious first-team experience at Stamford Bridge at the moment.

At a press conference ahead of Chelsea’s upcoming Premier League clash with Newcastle United, Pochettino was asked whether he feels his side have benefited negatively from the large number of young players he’s had to work with since his appointment as head coach last year, and the Argentine replied: “Maybe, yes [that could be the issue].

“People that want to believe in this, okay. It’s the opinion. Look, I was explaining from the beginning of the season what was going on here, trying to be transparent. I’m not going to try and convince people and justify the result.”

Despite ruing the lack of experience in his side, Pochettino however says he has faith in his younger players and the ongoing project at Stamford Bridge, and insists that with time, things will improve. 

“I really believe we can succeed,” the 52-year-old went on.

“We got to a [Carabao Cup] final, the first trophy, we were there and we fully deserved after 90 minutes to win the game. If we fully believe we can win games, then I think we can be close to be in the position to get into Europe. Football is about belief.”