The 27-year-old, who along with Maurizio Sarri made the move from Napoli to Stamford Bridge two summers ago and consequently was very much linked to our former manager and his style of play, has been just as much a regular in the side under Frank Lampard. As one of the players who has brought a balance of experience to a side which contains many younger footballers, his performances have impressed too, and the match data shows he was one of the outstanding players in the win over Brighton at the weekend.The crowd certainly thought so as they sung ‘Jorginho, Jorginho’.‘Last season this was not possible but I am happy with how they have changed their mind about me,’ Jorginho has said. ‘I worked a lot, I never said anything, I just work and work and work.‘This season is an opportunity for me to show I am here not just for the coach. I am thankful for what we did together because that was amazing, we worked four years together, and I am very grateful for what I learned from him [Sarri] but I am here also for my quality, for how much I work because in my life I have always worked hard and I am here for that as well, not just for the coach.‘People could not see that [last season]. It made me a little bit sad because I knew it was not like that but my mind was I just have to work hard and change their minds and make them see they were making a mistake about me.’

On average there are less touches in a game from Jorginho this season but he says his position on the pitch has not greatly altered. He must still make sure he does not leave too much space in midfield.‘This season we are playing more with the long balls and with more runs, less short passes,’ he explains, ‘so we changed a little bit but the mentality is the same, we press the other team and try to have the control of the match.‘I try to adapt myself for what the coach wants and he does not want too much short passing.’Lampard spoke at the weekend about the leadership qualities Jorginho, who opened the scoring in Saturday’s 2-0 win from the penalty spot, brings to the side.‘This is not new for me because I was always like this, I always try to do that, to help my team-mates,’ Jorginho points out. ‘Not everyone can see that but when someone like Frank Lampard says it, people look for that.’The next challenge for the Italian international and his team-mates is on Wednesday night in Lille, when we will look to make up for an opening group-game defeat at home to Valencia.‘The Champions League is very difficult but we are ready to go and win in every stadium,’ he says.‘We are going to try to win because we need it. It is a new experience [for the young players] but they are very good and they are showing how good they are so they have to believe in themselves and keep pushing.‘In the Champions League every team is very good and you need to be prepared for everything on the pitch. Teams can create just one chance and they can score so we need to be more strong.’