Levi Colwill talks up Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino

Chelsea aren’t exactly off to a great start this season, with just four points from our first four games, plus a narrow win over fourth division AFC Wimbledon in the League Cup, but Levi Colwill has still brought some of Mauricio Pochettino’s qualities to the fore with some positive words.

Colwill, who’s earned his nascent call-up to the senior England national team, sang the praises of the new Chelsea boss when talking with the media yesterday. While obviously he wasn’t going to say anything negative (or even slightly non-positive) about the boss in such a setting, some of the praise is quite specific and pointed, and thus likely to be actually important and meaningful to him personally — and playing a significant part in his decision to shirk Brighton’s interest and re-commit to us. (Adam Lallana, Colwill’s teammate at Brighton who used to play for Poch at Spurs, put in a good word. Thanks, Adam!)

“When I finally met [Pochettino], I realised everything Adam said was true. He is a great manager, really makes me feel comfortable and allows me to play my best game. I think with him at the club, it has changed so much and now we want to kick on.

“I think the big thing for me is, on the first day I came in, putting an arm around me and showing me that he respects me as a person and also as a player. That allows me to work my hardest and makes me want to play my best for him.

“That’s a big difference, him showing that there are two sides whereas the majority of managers may just look at you like a footballer, which he doesn’t. That helps me play my best football. I know I’m going to improve. I can guarantee that. He’s such a good manager and he will push me, he won’t let me have any off-days, that’s what I need.

“Someone like me, if someone lets me go to sleep, I might just have a good day or a bad day. I need someone there to give me that kick up bum and say ‘keep going’. That’s what he does.”

-Levi Colwill; source: Mirror

Well, we certainly do need a kick up the bum after some of the football we’ve played in the first month, especially right in front of the opposition goal, but as Pochettino has reminded us the other day, this process is going to take some time and it’s going to have its ups and downs.

But if we can stay together, if we can keep working diligently towards the common goal, we should get there. And Pochettino has certainly fostered great team spirit quite quickly, which is fairly impressive considering all the new faces and new ideas.

Colwill’s likely to be key to our aims, not just this season, but for many years going forward. He’s in line for his England debut this week, after getting the all-clear from some precautionary scans.