LONDON: Mauricio Pochettino said Chelsea had shown a "big improvement" during his single season as manager in his first public comments since his Stamford Bridge exit.
The Argentine left the club by mutual consent last month despite a strong end to a turbulent season in which they spent much of the campaign languishing in mid-table in the Premier League.
The Blues won their final five games to finish sixth and earn a place in the UEFA Conference League, also reaching the final of the League Cup and the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
On Monday, Chelsea appointed Leicester boss Enzo Maresca as Pochettino's successor on a five-year deal.
Addressing the club's ownership and supporters via social media, Pochettino, 52, he said he had worked hard to "give you a Chelsea you can be proud of".
The former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss said the team had progressed after finishing a lowly 12th in the Premier League in the 2022/23 season.
"I am so pleased with the level the team reached and the way the players and staff have all worked so hard to increase their standards, they deserve great credit and I hope you felt that too in how they performed on the pitch," Pochettino said in an Instagram post on Tuesday.
"We know there have been ups and downs but we always believed in this team and that we would arrive at a consistent level.
"I believe the experiences of this season and big improvement we saw, I hope will only make the players stronger for the future. It has been a pleasure to work with them all and we appreciate the strong bonds we created in this last year together."
Pochettino said he would return to Stamford Bridge on Sunday for the annual Soccer Aid celebrity charity match to raise funds for UNICEF, where he will manage a World XI against an England team.
Pochettino highlights Chelsea's 'big improvement' on his watch
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Pochettino highlights Chelsea's 'big improvement' on his watch
- The Argentine left the club by mutual consent last month despite a strong end to a turbulent season
- "I am so pleased with the level the team reached and the way the players and staff have all worked so hard to increase their standards," Pochettino said
Undav scores again as Stuttgart sink Frankfurt to go third
- A dipping header from Rasmus Kristensen gave Frankfurt an early lead
- The victory took the German Cup holders to third, a point behind second-placed Borussia Dortmund
BERLIN: Nikolas Nartey nabbed a late winner and Deniz Undav continued his hot form as Stuttgart beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 at home on Tuesday to climb to third in the Bundesliga.
A dipping header from Rasmus Kristensen gave Frankfurt an early lead but Ermedin Demirovic pounced on a goalkeeping error and Undav’s deflected effort helped Stuttgart wrestle back control of the match before half-time.
Bundesliga debutant Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab brought Frankfurt level but Nartey’s 87th-minute strike, his first Bundesliga goal, put the hosts back in front.
The victory took the German Cup holders to third, a point behind second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who cruised to a 3-0 victory over Werder Bremen stretching their unbeaten run to 10 league games.
Frankfurt have struggled this season after last campaign’s third-placed finish, their best result in three decades.
Kristensen connected with a corner to put his side in front after five minutes, but Frankfurt ushered Stuttgart back into the game when goalkeeper Kaua Santos spilled a routine catch, allowing Demirovic to slice home.
Undav put his side in front 10 minutes before the break, wrong-footing the Frankfurt defense and blasting a low shot which took a thick deflection into the bottom corner.
Undav, who has nine goals and two assists in his past eight league games, forced two desperation saves from Santos and flashed just wide of the post in the second half.
Amaimouni-Echghouyab levelled things up just three minutes after coming on but his effort was bested by another debut goal minutes later, when Nartey tapped in from close range.
Elsewhere, the match between Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen was postponed just two hours before kick-off, the third Bundesliga game canceled in the space of a week due to wild winter weather across northern Germany.
