Bompastor arrives at Chelsea with the highest pedigree both on the pitch as a player and in the dugout as a manager. With countless trophies won in her homeland, she is now ready to replicate her French success in England.

So much goes into winning; it’s a jigsaw only the best in the game can complete. For Bompastor, her puzzle pieces are the values and vision shared by all involved in the success.

Putting them into place has been key during Bompastor’s time in the job thus far. The groundwork was done via video calls and phone conversations, but now those connections can be built in person.

‘I know the club already have their own values and that is something important for me to build on,’ our new head coach explains in an exclusive interview.

‘For me, respect is always one of them. It’s not only saying we have to be respectful, it’s understanding what this word means to everyone. We have to use the same interpretation of the word together.

‘Humility is also something really important, especially in high level competition.

‘Everyone has to be invested in this journey because when you are working as part of the staff it is seven days a week and 24 hours a day almost. I just want to make sure that everyone who comes to this building every day enjoys their journey.

‘We are working very hard to achieve our goals, but it’s also about finding a good balance between working well together and enjoying being together.

‘I told the staff last week that we have to realise being in this environment is something really important – but we also have to realise we have the privilege of having the chance to do our passion.

‘I don’t come in the building saying it’s my job. I just feel like it’s my passion and I have the chance every day to do the thing I like most in my life.’

Before the players arrived back at Cobham on Monday, Bompastor had the opportunity to bond with her staff. It is important, she says, to know the person away from football, and how better to do that than an obstacle course?

‘I want to build the atmosphere where everyone feels like we are a family,’ Bompastor adds. ‘It takes time to build that, but to do that you have to do something different.

‘It’s good sometimes to take them out of their comfort zone and last week, with the Treetops Challenge, it was about making good memories together. All through the season we’ll have these good memories and that was a good start.

‘I was happy because everyone did their best. It was also a way to show how you are in a different way outside of the club. I can tell you that I am a different person when I’m being a coach to, for example, when I’m being a mum. It’s good to know what a person is like outside and away from football.’

Although she is keen to bring her own identity and philosophy to her Chelsea side, Bompastor is aware of the legacy that precedes here.

A new era this might be, but the work done by former manager Emma Hayes is something our new head coach has long admired. Carrying that on is something that will be done with respect.

‘I’ve been really impressed with all the work Emma did for such a long time,’ Bompastor says. ‘It’s wonderful.

‘She started from the bottom and built the club up on her own. I say on her own and I say that knowing there were a lot of others behind the scenes, too – but, she was the leader. The true leader and I have so much respect for that.

‘I will be careful building on this legacy because she left the club in such a good place. Now, I just want to make sure we go for the next step. I will be respectful while bringing my own identity and my own vision to the project.

‘I just want to say thank you to Emma because she’s been very supportive. We have talked to each other and she has been trying to help me as much as she can. I can feel she really loves the club and she wants to make sure the club stays in the right place.’

Hayes drove standards on and off the pitch at Chelsea. The effects of that are something Bompastor has already seen at Cobham, as she highlighted the quality of the facilities at our training ground.

‘I’ve been really impressed because you can feel the club is about ambitions,’ adds our head coach. ‘It’s about having the ambitions and giving the support to the staff and squad to make sure we perform at the highest level.

‘The infrastructure is good. The training facilities are so good. You feel like everything is built to support the team and to make sure we go where we have to go. We have the infrastructure to work well and make sure we go for what we want.’

Having long awaited her arrival, Bompastor is already feeling the love from the Blues fans. And she hopes to repay their unwavering support over the course of a season, with impressive performances and with trophies.

‘The main expectation here is to win trophies,’ says Bompastor when asked what her mission statement to the supporters would be. ‘This is why we are here.

‘I also will make sure and will work very hard to make the team look good on the field. I want the fans when they come to watch to just enjoy the game. Enjoy the fact we are going to score a lot of goals – I hope so! We are working hard to do that.

‘I want them anytime they come in the stadium, before or at the end of the game, to feel we are with them. I want the players to realise they [the fans] are really important. I want to have this relationship with them.

‘I want them to feel part of this journey and part of this project. That is really important.’

• Sonia Bompastor's first match at Kingsmeadow will see the Blues host Feyenoord Vrouwen in a friendly on Saturday 7 September. To see her side in action for the first time on home soil, buy your tickets here!