Tomorrow’s game against Newcastle is Chelsea’s last until 27 December, and Graham Potter has revealed what he, his staff and the players not heading to Qatar will be doing in the interim.
The unusual break for such a long period in the middle of the season affords Potter a chance to take stock and look back on a whirlwind start to life at Stamford Bridge.
There are also plans in place for those players not competing at the World Cup to keep them fresh and ready for the restart, and the head coach detailed that itinerary and his bigger-picture thoughts at his press conference today.
‘We’ll have a few days break,’ Potter started.
‘There are only about three or four players left. Then we will reconvene, a bit of training and off to a warm-weather camp and couple of games to prepare for the restart.
‘We have to use it for what it is,’ he continued. ‘It’s an opportunity.
‘We have to take stock of the time we’ve had. It’s 13 weeks in six weeks, eight away from home. It’s been incredibly intense and we’ve learned a lot. We have to take that time to reflect and come back stronger.
‘It’d be stupid not to use that time to do that, to rejuvenate, to recover, to reflect, to improve. There will be loads of things that will enter the head as you reflect.
‘There’s more to come from the group we have. We can do better than we have from a performance perspective, and that’s where our focus is on.’
In the shorter term, Chelsea travel to in-form Newcastle United tomorrow with the intention of getting a positive result so we head into the break on a high after a difficult run domestically.
Newcastle on the rise
Standing in our way are a side who have lost just once this season (that in stoppage time to Liverpool back in August) and have won their past four league games.
‘Eddie has done a fantastic job,’ enthused Potter of his opposite number tomorrow, Howe.
‘He’s improved the players that were there. He’s improved the team with some really good recruitment. They’ve spent some money to reinforce the team.
‘I could speak for half-an-hour about how good I think Eddie is, as a person and a coach. I have huge admiration for him. He’s galvanised the team, there’s fantastic support up there at St James’ Park, and the club is moving forward.
‘They’ve deservedly got results and that builds confidence and momentum. They have a physicality and intensity and they’re good in all phases of the game. I like how they’re playing. We have a tough game.’