Thomas Tuchel vows to finish season at Chelsea despite uncertainty over his future

Thomas Tuchel says there is "no doubt" he will remain at Chelsea until the end of the season despite the uncertainty around the club’s ownership.

Kai Havertz’s late goal earned the Blues a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabian-backed Newcastle in their first game at Stamford Bridge since owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the Government for his links to Vladimir Putin and role in enabling the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

There were no obvious signs of the severe financial restrictions which have been imposed on the club since Thursday but Tuchel has previously said they would have to live "day-by-day", which has raised speculation about his own future.

But Tuchel said: "There’s no doubt I’ll stay until the end of the season. Absolutely.

"We just have to wait and we still have to go day by day because everything can change. But the situation is clear, the club’s for sale, and hopefully it will go through to sort things out and give us a perspective.

"It’s not so nice because we have no strings to pull and no actions to do to help.

"But on the other side it gives you the freedom to focus on what we can influence – and this is our performances and to show the spirit. Because of course the focus is on the first team, our players and me and the first team of Chelsea.

"But Chelsea is much more than the first team of the Premier League. It’s a massive club, massive club with huge tradition.

"And there are hundreds of people who I’m pretty sure worry more than our players and staff, me included. And for them it’s important that we show the spirit and give them a bit of a distraction, some hope and show what we are about, and we are about football because we love the game."

While Abramovich’s other assets have been frozen, the