Chelsea: Mauricio Pochettino has already made big changes behind the scenes | OneFootball

New details have emerged about the changes that Mauricio Pochettino has made already at Chelsea, and it is clear that he is not messing around.

The Argentine coach has only been in his new position for a matter of weeks and has been tasked with rebuilding the Blues.

They are a side that require major surgery after a poor showing last season in the Premier League.

Chelsea only managed to finish 12th, with three different managers taking charge of them at points last season.

They have also lost some big players as they continue to trim their bloated squad.

Pochettino has made huge changes in pre-season already

Given all of the above, it is clear that Pochettino does not have an easy road ahead of him.

But he has previously stated his determination to get Chelsea back up the Premier League table and challenging for trophies.

“I am not trying to think about challenges,” he said at a press conference in July, as per the Daily Mail. “First we need a balanced squad. We wanted to reduce the number of players.

“In football, there is no patience. It is difficult to wait. You need to deliver from day one. That is why we are how we are. It is about the delivery from now. We cannot tell people we need six months. We need belief from the beginning.

“If we need more time, maybe it is possible we will say it then, but we need to be ready to beat Liverpool.”

He is certainly getting close to achieving the first part of that statement, with 11 senior players already having left the club on permanent deals or free transfers.

But how does the new boss plan to ensure that Chelsea are ready to compete come Sunday 13 August when Liverpool travel to Stamford Bridge?

Well, according to a new report from The Athletic, Pochettino has already made some big changes behind the scenes to ensure his Chelsea team are at their best before gameweek one.

Big improvements to fitness training

As is always the case with pre-season training, match fitness is the main target during the first few weeks.

While Jurgen Klopp might be famous for his lactate test, Pochettino is renowned for his incredibly difficult ‘Gacon test,’ devised by former Marseille trainer Georges Gacon in 1994, whereby players have 45 seconds to run 150 metres.

After every run, players have 15 seconds to rest. They then run again, but the distance is increased by 6.25 metres.

The process continues until nobody can complete the course.

Players have already taken part in the sickening procedure, with Ben Chilwell reportedly the outstanding candidate.

And The Athletic write that anonymous sources close to the senior players have suggested that this has been the toughest pre-season they have experienced in years, especially compared to standards under Thomas Tuchel.

Coaching staff closely monitoring training

It is not just the type of training that players are doing under Pochettino, but also how closely their efforts are being monitored.

Players at Tottenham had reportedly nicknamed the coach “Big Brother” after he installed cameras at every corner of the training ground to monitor players.

And that name is likely to come up at Chelsea too, with the boss doing the same thing around Cobham.

The Athletic writes that the procedure allows staff to focus on individuals in greater detail, allowing them to review specific things that need working on.

And their monitoring has extended to the gym as well.

The Athletic write that under previous regimes, players had put in the minimum amount of effort before leaving the gym early.

That is no longer the case under Poch.

Everyone is being put through a full workout at high levels to ensure that every player in the team has the physical capabilities to play Pochettino’s style of football.

Chelsea experienced 48 injuries in total last season, nine more than anybody else in the league, so ensuring players are fit enough to handle the physical standards of Premier League football is a must.

Building morale with key steps

Given Chelsea’s horrific 2022/23 campaign though, rebuilding morale is another key step which is being addressed.

Pochettino has been quick to get players out the door who are unsettled at the club, and he has also been clear with players who do not have a future at Stamford Bridge under him.

and Romelu Lukaku were both told not to report back to training until the rest of the squad left for their pre-season tour.

Additionally, Pochettino has made changes to build morale among existing members of the squad.

The Athletic state that squad members have been instructed not to sit in the same groups every day, which will hopefully prevent several smaller cliques from forming and instead build unity.

Clear communication

Finally, The Athletic states that Pochettino has opened clear lines of communication with his players.

Not only has he invited them for chats and laid out basic expectations, but he has also asked for input on what went wrong last season.

That has allowed players to feel valued, and now individuals feel as if there is a “clean slate” which will allow them to put a disastrous 2022/23 campaign behind them.

What next for Chelsea?

The next steps for Pochettino will be working on incomings to strengthen the squad and building tactical familiarity on the pitch.

Looking at the former, their main target currently is Brighton’s Moises Caicedo, but negotiations have proved difficult.

Brighton reportedly rejected a bid worth £70 million on Tuesday.

The second step will occur during Chelsea’s pre-season tour of the United States.

The squad jetted off on Monday, and fans will have an opportunity to see them in action under Pochettino for the first time this week.

Chelsea face Wrexham on Wednesday 19 July, before facing Brighton on Saturday 22 July.