The Blues went into this break in impressive form after big back-to-back wins, with Anderlecht defeated 4-0 in the Premier League International Cup and Fulham beaten 6-0 in Premier League 2.

That came at the end of a busy spell for our Under-21s, with six matches across four competitions squeezed into less than three weeks following the previous international break in September.

While a steady stream of fixtures enabled the Blues to build momentum, the limited time between matches in which to work at Cobham provided challenges to the Academy’s overarching aim of player development. A different approach was required.

‘Since the September international break, it went fast with so many games, almost like it is for the first team. It seemed almost like we didn’t have time to train with these four competitions,’ explained our Under-21s head coach.

‘So then it’s about recovering, giving them opportunities to learn in a short period, not only in the classic training sessions but also video sessions with them to try and improve them as a team and individuals when time on the training pitch is limited.’

Competing across four different tournaments is never easy but it is a challenge Coelho is embracing as every game presents an opportunity for young players to gain valuable experience and learn.

That is why he insists he and the team will take the same approach to their next match against Bournemouth in the Premier League Cup as they would for a league game or any other competition.

‘Even having so many competitions we do not look at the competitions individually, we look at all the competitions as an opportunity to grow the team.

‘No matter if the next match is the International Cup or Premier League Cup or the EFL Trophy or Premier League 2, it’s about making things better and improving the players for the next match, no matter what match or competition it is.’

That means Coelho is keen for his team to pick up where they left off when the Under-21s action resumes following the international break.

‘I’m pleased that in the last week before this international break the players showed good results aligned with very good performance.

‘Unfortunately in the past, we have shown very good performance but the score was not aligned with our performance. But everything in that last week was very good, so let’s hope after they come back from their international duties we keep going, doing a good job.

‘We know there are going to be bumps on the road, we have to learn with that, keep going, be resilient and I think we are creating a good team here.’