Sonia Bompastor believes her Chelsea side are moving in the right direction ahead of the new campaign, with our pre-season friendly against Feyenoord on Saturday the next opportunity to make progress.
The Blues make their return to Kingsmeadow after four months this weekend when we host Dutch side Feyenoord in a pre-season friendly.
Although this will be the first opportunity for fans to watch Bompastor’s side on home turf, there have already been plenty of positive signs of what is to come under our new head coach.
Bompastor led the Blues to two wins from two on our pre-season tour of the USA, beating NJ/NY Gotham 3-1 in New Jersey, before defeating London rivals Arsenal 1-0 in Washington, DC.
The priorities in the States were for players to get minutes in the tank and for players to implement her style for the first time, but against Feyenoord, she admits, the objectives have evolved.
‘The process is going to change now,’ Bompastor explained. ‘I think it is important now to get to a point where the team starts to have chemistry together.
‘This is an opportunity to give more minutes to the players who deserve them in terms of performance, so I think against Feyenoord we will have maybe a team who will be close to the team that will start the season.’
The attacking intent Bompastor wants her side to play with was evident throughout both of our matches Stateside. Against Feyenoord, she hopes to show the home crowd more of the same. It is a style she hopes they will enjoy watching.
‘I hope they will be watching a dominant team,’ Bompastor added. ‘When I say a dominant team I want them to see a team who control the game in different ways: with the ball and the tempo.
‘We want to be an aggressive team when we don’t have the ball and make sure we have the right mentality to work individually and collectively to recover the ball when we’re not in possession.
‘This is what I expect the team to show on Saturday against Feyenoord. I will be really happy if that’s the case. I want us to work really hard and I want us to score a lot of goals.’
With our opening game of the season just under two weeks away and more minutes in the tank to be gained this weekend, Bompastor knows things are still a work in progress. There are still lessons to be learned and challenges to overcome.
‘It’s like trying to put all the players on the same page on the pitch,’ Bompastor said. ‘We’re still getting to know each other because we are new and we have new players on the team.
‘My biggest challenge is to make sure everyone understands the same in the same exact moment. Everyone has to have the same vision and be connected together with that.
‘We have players coming from all different countries and have played with different philosophies, so my biggest job for starting the season is to make sure we are all on the same page.’
It is not only the players who have been learning over the last month since Bompastor’s arrival. This has been the start of a new chapter for our head coach and she has embraced everything that has come with it.
‘We all learn every day,’ Bompastor said. ‘It’s about learning more about the players, the league, and the staff. It’s a challenge and new, but I really like it. It’s all part of the process.’
Tickets for Saturday's match against Feyenoord at Kingsmeadow can be purchased, here!