The Blues continue to compete across three fronts, as we take a break from the Premier League’s top-four race this week to host Sheffield United in the FA Cup quarter-finals, having already secured our place in the last eight of the Champions League by beating Atletico Madrid on Wednesday evening.

Our head coach insists that our progress in those other competitions in no way alters the importance of the FA Cup, as he has never allowed himself or his players to prioritise one game over another.

‘I think it’s most important that we compete for every competition that we play in,’ he said. ‘For me this is what it is about at Chelsea – if we play in the league we play for the top, if we play in the Champions League we play to win every game and if we play in the cup we play to win every game and compete for the maximum.

‘I am not judging games, I’ve never done it, not in my career as an academy manager, not in my career as a professional manager and coach. I never judged friendly games over league matches. If we wear a Chelsea shirt when we are out there it is our obligation to play 100 per cent and to focus on our performance, to have the attitude right, to have the mentality right, to as a result be able to win the game.

‘This is what I demand from myself after a big match when I prepare for the next knockout match against Sheffield United. This is what I demand from myself, my team, to prepare for it in the best way possible and to get the head straight and to be out there in the same competitive attitude like we have played the last 13 matches. At the highest level you can never relax if you want to keep the momentum going.’

However, he adds that his task of keeping the squad focused on the next game is helped by the winning mentality he found already in place when he arrived at Cobham.

‘This club shapes the mentality and attitude of the players. I found a group of players who have a very impressive approach to training, to performance, to games, to the understanding of how the team works. This is for me what the club is doing here to sharpen their attitude, to keep the heads straight, what it is about to play for Chelsea.

‘The club is a big help because the mentality is fantastic. So now it is always my duty to be close to my players and keep them motivated, to push them, to clarify their role in the moment, to never let them rest and to adapt to their needs.’

Having gone unbeaten in his first 13 matches as Chelsea head coach, the longest undefeated start of any Blues manager, many would expect complacency to be his largest concern, but for Tuchel his biggest fear is fear itself.

‘I don’t want to get into the situation where the fear of losing is bigger than the hunger to win, so we look too much at what we have achieved and want to protect what we have. If it is 13, 14, 15 games or whatever doesn’t matter, except that it’s natural that it sometimes affects you, maybe you step back and you want to protect it, but I want us always to be brave and always to refocus to go for the next win, not to avoid the loss that kills our record.

‘The record is already history, the next game is Sheffield United and it is one game, and this is the most important thing. I demand the maximum from myself and the team and if we do this then it is possible to get big records, but I hope we don’t enter a situation where we are more scared of losing a record than winning the next game.’