Chelsea’s record under new head Thomas Tuchel has been almost perfect, with the Blues collecting 10 points from 12 in his four Premier League matches to bring ourselves back up to fifth place and into top-four contention.
The performances behind the results have been less than perfect, but they’ve felt more structured and more controlled than under the previous regime. Reece James agrees and credits that to Tuchel being able to communicate his ideas clearly, and the players being willing and able to take those ideas onboard and execute them.
“From the minute [Tuchel] came in he made his style of play very evident and clear and I think we have taken that on board very well, and you can probably see that we look like we are playing better as a team as well.”
Obviously, it’s easy to talk up a new head coach and how wonderful he is, especially when the team are off to a good start with him. But the team’s confidence is in a good place right now and still growing, and that’s a good way to ensure that we’re not just looking at a proverbial new manager bounce, but rather building something substantial for the rest of the season and beyond.
Chelsea’s resilience in overcoming a most frustrating equalizer on Sunday is testament to this growing mental strength. No dropped shoulders means no dropped points!
“In football, sometimes mistakes and strange things happen but we reacted well [to the own-goal equaliser] and we managed to get a penalty.
“We knew coming to Sheffield United was going to be a tough game. Last year they showed they are a very strong team and we knew we had to give 100 per cent to come away with the win.”
-Reece James; source: Chelsea FC
Long may it last.