00:27Okay, good afternoon and thank you
00:29for joining us. We will take questions from the floor for a live section and we'll begin
00:35with James Savundra from Sky Sports News. Away you go James.
00:38Chawi, good to see you. Pre-season is nearly over. How ready do you feel for Monday night?
00:44Yeah, good afternoon everyone. We feel ready. We've prepared the whole pre-season these six
00:51weeks with some players from the first day, other ones coming later. But the desire, the
00:58ambition, the hunger to start the Premier League is already in the...
01:04...in the door.
01:11Hello.
01:37Okay, good afternoon and thank you for joining us. We will...
01:42We will take questions from the floor for a live section and we'll begin with James Savundra
01:46from Sky Sports News. Away you go James.
01:48Chawi, good to see you. Pre-season is nearly over. How ready do you feel for Monday night?
01:54Yeah, good afternoon everyone. We feel ready. We've prepared the whole pre-season these
02:00six weeks with some players from the first day, other ones coming later. But the desire, the
02:08ambition, the hunger to start the Premier League is already in the building in each training
02:14and looking forward to it.
02:16Joao Pedro is set to sign a new contract. He's got the number nine shirt now as well. Just
02:21how important is he for you?
02:23Yeah, we talk a lot with Joao because he's not just a great player. He has a great personality
02:33and I think that his development as a great player and as a leader is very noticeable in
02:43every day in each game. So he has this focus and this desire to have a great season scoring
02:54goals but helping the team and I'm very happy and very impressed with his personality as well
02:59and now we need to help him in reaching his goals.
03:05You've made a number of signings this summer already. Are you happy with the squad you have
03:09or do you think there could be more additions?
03:12No, I'm really happy. I think that we have made many right choices. Very good balance in
03:19terms of quality, in terms of personality, maturity, different stages of the career with good
03:25momentum and we are in a good position I would say.
03:30There's been a lot of speculation as you'll know about Enzo Fernandes in this transfer window.
03:35Will he still be a Chelsea player on deadline day?
03:39Enzo is a Chelsea player. He's a top, top player. He's training really, really well since he started
03:47ten days ago with the team, very integrated and we are happy with him and he's getting ready for Monday.
03:54Has he told you that he wants to stay at Chelsea?
03:57No, he's training really well and I see him with a really good attitude and that's what we want.
04:02That everyone is trying his best and to prepare for the kick-off of the Premier League.
04:08There are around 40 senior players at the club right now. Can you talk us through the thinking
04:13between splitting the players into different groups and what that means for the players that aren't involved in the main
04:19group?
04:20No, we have good managing well with group dynamics. Whenever we need we have different groups so it's not been
04:32an issue at the moment.
04:33And finally, Danny Werbeck was training on his own today. What was the latest with him? Could he be involved
04:38on Monday?
04:39He can be involved. He just needed a couple of days not training that much because of a little thing
04:46but we are expecting to be back on Saturday.
04:49We need to go day by day but that's the plan at the moment.
04:57How big a challenge is this for you personally and how different a challenge is it to what you've faced
05:02so far in your managerial career?
05:05It's a challenge for everyone. We are all together in this new start of the season but the main thing
05:12for me is the targets and the goals that we share all together.
05:17And we have the ambition to have a great year and we don't need to think about what's going to
05:23happen late in the season.
05:25What we can control is what we do, how we start the season, how we prepare for the games and
05:30for sure now the only focus at the moment is Fulham.
05:34But for sure Premier League is challenging. Each game is going to be challenging. We are going to be improving
05:40game by game.
05:42I'm sure that the team that started Premier League and the one that's in December, even in November will be
05:51better because everything takes time.
05:54It's a process but we feel that we can have a good start and that's so important.
05:59Players who have been in the World Cup, players like Morgan Rodgers, will they need a bit longer to get
06:03up to speed?
06:04Are they ready to go flat out from the start?
06:07Let's see. We will check, we will assess but for sure because of the World Cup they came a little
06:13bit later and they would need maybe a little bit more of time.
06:16But they are for sure selectable for the line-up.
06:22You talk about Tiger's aims. Is top four a must for a club like Chelsea this season?
06:28Ambition and to be as high as possible. Let's see where we are in May but it's still a long
06:34way to go there.
06:36So for that you need to earn points and to win for nearly days and that's our goal.
06:41Time will tell but for sure. The hunger to have success, the ambition to do well, to create good energy,
06:48good spirit within the team.
06:51That's the first goal because that helps you be more competitive and win more games.
06:57Incredibly your first game against Alvaro. I think a good friend of yours is that right?
07:02Do you speak with him regularly? What's the relationship like? What's it going to be like on Monday?
07:06Well, of course you can have a relation but once on the pitch. No friends, no past. It's just the
07:1390 minutes that we are playing, fighting for each club and after it's everything.
07:20Final one, there's no European football for you this season. Does that give you quite a significant advantage against all
07:28your rivals who aren't playing European football?
07:31We'll have more time to prepare each game, that's for sure. That's a fact. After we need to prove that
07:36we use the time in a right way,
07:39that we have enough players in good momentum to approach this game and for sure we'll have wanted but it
07:48is what it is and we need to use the time properly.
07:50Thanks Jon. Saraya?
07:52Xavi, good to see you.
07:54Rhys James is entering his eighth season as a first-team player. We've seen him play as a right-back,
07:59a midfielder, a centre-back...
08:01A wing-back.
08:02A wing-back.
08:03Where do you see him in your side primarily?
08:06He's flexible in his game but he needs to feel important. I think that's the main thing. Not just because
08:15of the role he has as captain, but as well because of the quality he gives to the next players.
08:21Whenever he plays as a right-back or as a midfielder, normally he makes the next team better because of
08:29his quality, because of his game intelligence, his experience, his composure with the ball.
08:35So it's good that we have players that can play in different positions, not just him, other players as well.
08:42I see him in a good mood, in a good mindset. For sure the club means so much to him
08:51and we want to have a good start, a fresh start with good momentum and that's why the start is
09:00so important on Monday.
09:01Lots of the boys have highlighted your skill in the training sessions. They say you can make the starting line
09:07-up for Chelsea today. They enjoy actually playing with the manager in training and it helps them get better. How
09:12important is that for you to actually play football?
09:15No, first, first, first, no chance for the Lions. And, well, it is how I feel it. I like to
09:21be close to the players, I like to be involved in the trainings, I think that you need to be
09:27authentic and that's something that for me to have this close relation, to have this close impact with the players
09:33is so important because I think that my main goal is to help them,
09:37to help them understand, to help them know what to do after they need to be on the pitch,
09:45on the game day, they have control.
09:48They need to decide, they need to do their thing.
09:50But for that, we can prepare.
09:52And for that preparation, this is where I have my goal.
09:56And to confirm, do you have your designated penalty takers, will be the same this season?
10:03I don't know which ones were last season, but yes, we have our own decisions.
10:09You don't want to say?
10:10No.
10:11Sorry.
10:12I'm going to ask just one more.
10:13Not too early.
10:14Hopefully we have a penalty and you can see that on Monday.
10:18I just wanted to talk about your first game in charge, it's a West London derby against
10:22another Spanish manager in the league, how is it preparing for an away game that's also
10:26a derby, it's a good mentality?
10:27Well, football is about mentality, it's about competitiveness, it's about going through
10:37good moments in a game, rough and tough moments in a game to deal with different momentous
10:42is so important and each game starting on Monday, it's going to be a nice battle.
10:49Good luck.
10:54Hi Xavi, another positional question I wanted to ask about Marco Palestra.
10:59He seems like a really unusual player in a good way in terms of how comfortable he is
11:03with both feet, you've used him on both sides, more recently on the left in pre-season.
11:09Is that where you see him starting the season?
11:11I would say it's probably unusual in England because in Italy, for example, it's quite
11:18common.
11:19And he has had this toxic education in the Italian football to play both profiles.
11:24It doesn't matter if you are right-footed or left-footed that you are versatile.
11:27So he has this option, this energy, he's had a great impact as well in the changing room.
11:38He's integrated really well, he's a great guy and this freshness that he has brought,
11:43apart from his football qualities, it's a very great addition to the club.
11:50But yes, he's something different, maybe not that common here, but in Italy it's quite
11:57common.
11:58Finish with bro.
11:59Hi Xavi.
12:00How has Levi Cole been in the pre-season, having had such a long time off most of the season?
12:07Is there any way in that having had that time away is helpful going into the pre-season?
12:12Yeah, I would say so.
12:13I would say that having a proper pre-season has helped him in taking the right steps in
12:21the right moment, not trying to rush it too quick because of what he had last year.
12:28It was even last year he finished playing in a good way and now after the pre-season we
12:36are expecting that and that he feels well and that he's with confidence and with the fitness
12:42to have him in the best level because if he's feeling OK, he's for me one of the best
12:48centre-backs in the world because of his composure, because of his presence, so complete, so dominant
12:56and Levi is going to be a key player for us.
Comments