Mauricio Pochettino speaks on PSG's Champions League chances & time at Tottenham

Newly appointed Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino has said that the club are in a 'good position' to win the Champions League this season.

Pochettino replaced Thomas Tuchel in the hot seat on Saturday after the German was sacked on Christmas Eve. He joins with PSG third in Ligue 1 behind both Lille and Lyon, despite their considerably larger financial resources.

Even with the Parisians struggling domestically, Pochettino said he was excited about the squad he is inheriting and suggested they have a good chance of ending the club's Champions League hoodoo.

"The Champions’ League is important for PSG as are other competitions," he said (via GFFN)

"We are going to face Barcelona in one month. We are going to have to build something there. When the moment comes and when we recover all the players we will have a squad filled with quality, we will be in a good position."

The PSG job is Pochettino's first since departing Tottenham in 2019 and he predicted that it would represented a different challenge.

"Each club is different, PSG are one of the biggest clubs in the world, Tottenham are also an enormous club where I have great memories. It is difficult to compare and to be objective with Tottenham. It is time for us to move on to something else and be 100% focused on PSG," he said.

PSG have been linked with a number of high-profile signings of late, with Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen - who both flourished under Pochettino in north London - both being mentioned. Lionel Messi, whose Barcelona contract expires in the summer, is another possible target.

However, when quizzed on his January transfer plans, Pochettino remained tight-lipped.

"Santa Claus already gave me a present in terms of being able to return to this club and manage such a team. I want to take the opportunity to thank Nasser and Leonardo for giving me this chance.

"We know that with all big clubs like PSG there are a lot of rumours, now I have just arrived, we are going to try to adapt, we will see later on for rumours," he said.