Mauricio Pochettino says it would not be ‘the end of the world’ if he left Chelsea this summer, revealing on Friday that he will make a decision of his own on his future once this season is over.

Ahead of facing Nottingham Forest on Saturday, the 52-year-old Argentine says him staying at Stamford Bridge is not only dependent on whether the hierarchy are happy with him. It will also depend on whether he is happy with them and that he has a conclusion to reach also.

Pochettino is due to sit down with his bosses at the end of the season but opened the door to walking away himself this summer at his pre-Forest press conference.

‘If we are happy, perfect,’ Pochettino said. ‘But it is not only if the owners are happy or the sporting directors are happy. If we are happy, you need to ask us also, because maybe we are not happy and we accept the situation and we need to split.

‘It is not going to be the first time that the coaching staff at the end of the season decide to not keep going. But at this end, it is always the opposite way.

‘It is always the owners or the sporting directors. They can say tomorrow. Maybe I can say, ‘I want to leave’. It is two parties to make a decision. Because Chelsea is not happy or the owners are not happy or the sporting directors are not happy. Maybe we are not happy because we arrive here with a job to do and in the end, it has not happened what we expect.

‘Maybe we are not happy. I am not saying I am not happy but it is always one side and the other side. It is not a problem. It is not going to be the end of the world.’

Pochettino signed a two-year contract with the option of a third year when he arrived at Chelsea. There is no date set for his summer sit-down with the sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart and potentially representatives of the owners, but it is expected to happen in the days following their final game against Bournemouth.

Chelsea have three games to go in which they can secure European football against Forest, Brighton and Bournemouth.