A Bridge-building exercise for new Chelsea head coach Pochettino

BY PAUL LAGAN
paul@slpmedia.co.uk

Mauricio Pochettino has already done what a few of his predecessors at SW6 have failed to do and that’s to win at Old Trafford.

The Argentinian officially takes over the reins as head coach at Chelsea on July 1 but he has spent the past few weeks since his appointment taking it easy while answering and making numerous phone calls to see what shape the squad will be when he inherits it next month.

As manager of the Rest of the World team that defeated England in Soccer Aid at the home of Manchester United at the weekend, he became the first Chelsea boss to win there since Rafael Benítez in 2013, when Juan Mata scored in a 1-0 Premier League win.

With Frank Lampard’s interim contract ending on June 30, Poch will pop into the Cobham training ground the following day, unpack his bags, take a deep breath and probably say to himself : “I had better not screw this up.”

He has signed a two-year deal with a year’s option.

Chelsea fans will be pondering what a former Spurs manager will bring to the table?

They will almost certainly be reminded about how he guided Tottenham to a Champions League final and a League Cup final but finished runner-up in both, much like his best tilt at the Premier League title in 2017 – who can forget the ‘Battle at the Bridge’ in a 2-2 draw after going 2-0 up?

So winning trophies is not extensive on his CV. His only bits of silverware as a manager are the domestic Coupe de France and the Trophee des Champions during his spell at PSG in France.

But in terms of redeeming features he rarely, according to seasoned Spurs watchers, fell out with his players.

Like all elite managers, their exit is inevitably a result of a breakdown in communication and trust with the hierarchy.

That’s why Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, while continuing to praise Poch when prompted, failed to pick up the phone to bring ‘him home’ when he was ditched by PSG, much to the disgust of Spurs fans.

Poch will bring with him the now standard set of team coaches including for tactical analysis his long-term friend and former Newell’s Old Boys team-mate Miguel D’Agostino and goalkeeping coach Toni Jimenez.

The ex-Espanyol and Southampton head coach is said to be the caring, arms around shoulders type of manager.

Contrast that to Lampard and Thomas Tuchel who distance themselves from the players citing that they should just do what they are told to do and if they don’t then they don’t play.

Graham Potter was a mixture of the two, which slightly confused the changing room, and left a sense of insecurity among the squad.

As is always the case, those that play are happy, those that don’t are not.

But Poch understands that and his management technique, aided by his sophisticated coaching brain will see all players treated equally. That is what any player ultimately wants.

Building that sense of team spirit can happen quickly and it could happen as soon as the transfer window closes.

Chelsea’s bloated squad will be trimmed by the exit of 10 players, and those that remain know it’s Ground Zero time for them.

He will know who the club are getting rid of ,irrespective of his views, and knows the players they are keeping.

There have been many telephone conversations between him and the hierarchy, and while there is a honeymoon period to all appointments where the new boy gets his way more often than not, he is experienced enough now to know that that doesn’t last beyond the second transfer window, where his performance and the league table will determine the post-honeymoon relationship period.

Results influence the mood of course, and while every club wants to have a great start to the season, Chelsea can reasonably expect that they will be in that bracket.

Chelsea lost one of their own this week with the death of John Hollins, 76.

He notched up an impressive 48 goals in 465 matches in two spells for the Blues between 1963 and 1984.

Hollins went on to play for QPR and Arsenal. He was also manager at the Bridge for three seasons in the mid-1980s.