Felipe Scolari made full use of the light July evenings and the Cobham facilities as he began his second week training the Chelsea squad.

With one more player added to the party - Michael Essien the latest back after a summer that saw him in international action up to June 22 - Scolari continued with a pattern set last week of fitness work before lunch and a technical session in the late afternoon.

The gym, a vast hall in the lower floor of the training base building, was the location for the earliest group session, before all adjourned to the sunshine outside for some leg, lung and cardiac work as groups of players lapped the pitches.

For Essien, the middle distance running continued after the lunchtime rest. His famous endurance was put to the test as he circled his colleagues who by now had the footballs out. 'The Train' was back on his track.

With a vocal and animated Scolari very much the conductor, the technical session drew everyone into repeated action as playing out from defence, crossing and finishing were rehearsed. José Bosingwa was flying down the right in the manner previewed during Euro 2008 while Deco's ability to play both provider and executioner was demonstrated.

Long-range shooting then became the drill, with a pool of keepers rotating between the posts, including youth team goalie Niclas Heimann who will have been pleased to thwart some of Chelsea's more famous hard-hitters.

Eventually, a goal from outside the box was a passport to return to the building but despite the evening sun beginning to dip low in the sky, work had yet to end.

Before the players departed, it was back to the basement and a session in the swimming pool area adjacent to the gym as the physical condition needed for our matches in the Far East nears.