Our new head coach has had a promising start to life in the Stamford Bride dugout with some strong performances, especially in the opening-day draw with Liverpool on his debut as Blues boss and the comfortable 3-0 Premier League win over Luton Town.

However, those performances have not always been matched by the results, recording two wins, two losses and a draw so far. The 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in our last match before the international break was an example of the problems we have faced as Mauricio Pochettino continues to develop the structure and balance of his team in these early months.

Despite dominating the game and enjoying a 76 per cent share of the possession, we failed to convert our opportunities into goals and were hit on the counter for Forest to score the winner with what was effectively their only clear chance of the game.

Reflecting on his opening months as Chelsea head coach, Pochettino feels that is indicative of where his team has adapted quickly, leaving him pleased with progress so far, but also highlighting where there is still work to be done.

‘The team performance was good in the first months,’ he said. ‘I think we didn’t get the points that we deserved. The organisation is good in the way that we want to play but we haven’t had too much time to work together, that is the reality, because he have players that arrived in the last moment.

‘The players believe in the way that we want to play and if you look at the data we are very good in possession, we are very good in construction, in building from the back. In all these aspects. All we are missing is to score goals, one of the most important things in football. But I think playing in this way we are going to arrive because we have quality players. We want to keep going in this way.’

It is not just in the final third that Pochettino is eyeing an improvement in his team’s cutting edge, though. He also wants the players to be more decisive in their approach to defending, to ensure there are no more slips and we can end matches with the points our performances earn.

‘We want to be more competitive. We cannot concede this type of goal that we conceded against Nottingham. At some point we cannot be so weak in this type of situation. We need to be stronger because we have players with experience and players who can do better. That is the thing we need to improve, be more competitive and not only play well.

‘We are showing everyone that we can compete, we can dominate games, we can dominate teams like Liverpool. But then we need to be more competitive. I say competitive because I don’t want to use another word, but I will. We need to be more naughty, we need to be more aggressive in this type of situation. When we defend we cannot let teams like Nottingham create only one chance in open play and concede this type of goal.

‘But I mean to be naughty or aggressive in a good way, not to be violent. It’s not that we are too nice, we just need to compete better. We need to increase our level, not of our quality, but how we compete and knowing that every single moment of the game requires something to do. It is because we are still in the process of building the team and still we need to find that balance, but for sure it’s only a matter of time.

‘It’s another part of football, not only to play well or have good organisation. In some moments of the game you need to show more of this quality, whether it’s mental strength or to have the experience to manage better some circumstances in the game. Sometimes it’s not only about the talent that you have.’