MY ACCOUNT
Mauricio Pochettino has his work cut out for him as Chelsea’s new head coach.
Pochettino takes over a side that finished in the bottom half of the Premier League for the first time since 1996.
The former Tottenham manager, last in work at Paris Saint-Germain, will be tasked with rebuilding the Blues and restoring them to their former heights.
We take a look at his immediate priorities in the job.
Manage upwards
Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly’s hands-on style means Pochettino must form a positive relationship with the American to stand a chance of success.
Poch, 51, shared a strong bond with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy during his time in North London and a similar charm offensive is necessary here as he attempts to calm what has been a chaotic first year under the club’s new owners.
While a new signing or two will be expected, part of the Argentinian’s role might be to dissuade his superior from dipping into the transfer market too often.
Having been stung by dressing room politics at PSG, rumoured interest in Neymar, for example, is unlikely to sit too well with the new head coach.
Build a core
At Tottenham, Pochettino moulded a group of players — Jan Vertonghen, Eric Dier, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Harry Kane — into a core that was clearly distinguishable as his team.
There is no such spine to this Chelsea side, so his first job must be to wade through the long list of names available to him and decide who he feels can form part of his new-look outfit.
That process is likely to favour young players. Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah and Ben Chilwell form the basis of a strong defensive unit, while Enzo Fernandez is the future of the Blues’ midfield.
Poch’s squad is far too bloated in forward areas but nailing down the players he wants to keep and those he does not is the only way this is going to work.
Trim the squad
To give his new appointment the best possible chance, Boehly will likely need to swallow his pride on some of the expensive signings he has made over the past 12 months.
It is possible, for example, that not Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke are not all going to play a vital role for Pochettino, while Marc Cucurella and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang look destined to fall short of the mark.
Chelsea are unlikely to receive many sizeable transfer fees this summer but will need to focus on shipping players out of the door as quickly as possible so as not to burden their new boss with the same issues as Graham Potter faced earlier this season.
Potter’s squad was so oversized that he reportedly had to ask players to change into their training kit in the corridor and sit on the floor during team meetings.
Intense pre-season
Pochettino was famed for his brutal double training sessions at Spurs and will surely inflict more of the same on his new charges this summer.
Setting aside the size of their squad, the Blues suffered far too many injuries to gain consistency during a trophyless season in which they finished a lowly 12th.
Fitness and intensity is at the heart of everything Poch’s teams do best, so tuning up his star players so they are ready to contribute effectively next term will be vital.
