Saturday morning saw the Chelsea Under-18s cruise to victory against Brighton & Hove Albion, as a header from Shumaira Mhueka and an own goal gave us the victory, which was our third on the bounce in the league.

Our form has us in second place after six games in the Under-18 Premier League and only two teams have scored more goals than us, while just one has conceded less.

Sulaiman discussed the winning culture at Chelsea and how, even though he is tasked with supporting the development process of the players in his team, it is not done at the expense of results.

'Winning has and will always be a part of the Chelsea DNA and we approach every game the same, that is with the intention of winning. It is important to learn how to win and how to maintain and sustain that.

'In football, you do and will lose games. But we must learn from those so that we can avoid them. As it pertains to winning, we believe that it is a big part of their development as players.

'We are going game-by-game and if we continue to win games, our position in the table will reflect that at the end of the season.'

With only one defeat in all competitions this season, winning is slowly becoming a habit, and Sulaiman believes it is important to focus on maintaining that.

‘Player development is the bedrock of our youth system and we aim to create well-rounded footballers who not only excel on the pitch but also understand the game at a tactical and intellectual level. It is about shaping not just footballers but individuals who can thrive in the world of football here at Chelsea and beyond.’

His team has seen a number of changes to the line-up already over the course of this season and summer signing Ollie Harrison has featured more in recent weeks as he finds his feet. The midfielder played 90 minutes on Saturday and Sulaiman was full of praise for the the player from Newcastle.

'Ollie has been here for just over two months and has adapted to the programme, playing and training well. He is a quality player who has fantastic physical and technical attributes. Like with any player, we want to push him at the right times and know how to manage his minutes as he continues to adapt to a new environment.

'The same can be said of Ishe Samuels-Smith who played his first game for our Under-18s team. Having featured for the Under-21s earlier in the season, he did have a minor injury, but it was good to see him return to action.'

The squad is filled with a number of talented players and with the Under-21s calling on a few Under-18 regulars, it has given an opportunity to Shumaira Mheuka to shine at an older age level.

'Shumaira has been excellent and is continuing to develop his understanding of the game and the demands of the modern-day centre-forward. He is still 15 and performing at such a high level can always be difficult but he has taken it in his stride.'

Sulaiman added: 'We will continue to monitor him and ensure that he is getting everything he needs to maintain these levels of performance.'

Our Under-18s will play league leaders Tottenham on Saturday 21 October in their second game of the Under-18 Premier League Cup. Kick-off for that game is scheduled for 11am.