Our new head coach will lead the Blues for the first time when we face reigning NWSL champions NJ/NY Gotham at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey as part of our pre-season tour of the USA.

The hard work began at Cobham a fortnight ago and was on show again when Bompastor took her first session Stateside on Sunday - her final one on the grass before her maiden match as Chelsea head coach.

‘The training session was really good,’ Bompastor said. ‘I could feel the players were fresh and that they really enjoyed the session.

‘The dynamic was good, and coming here from London yesterday and only having one day here in the U.S. I felt the intensity was really good also.

‘We are ready to play the first game and we are excited because we have been practicing together as squad and staff for two weeks now. Starting the first game, it is always something special.’

Sitting in the team hotel following the MD-1 session, we continue to talk with Bompastor about her hopes for tomorrow’s game. She wants to see her game model, of course, but playing Gotham is a vital opportunity for the players to get their first match minutes of the new season in the tank.

‘At the moment with the first game, the priority is to get minutes in the legs,’ the Blues head coach added. ‘Of course, we are competitive and want to win every single game – tomorrow is a friendly, but we want to look good.

‘We have been working on the game model, but we are also thinking about how many minutes each player will get and how we share the minutes with the squad.’

It is impossible to ignore the occasion behind the pre-season friendly in New Jersey: a first match of the Bompastor era.

‘I’m really excited,’ she said. ‘When we speak about nerves, I think for me it is a good thing. The nerves motivate me and give me a good feeling of pressure coming into the game.

‘I feel really confident because we have prepared and anticipated everything before the game.

‘My job is to make sure the game plan is ready. We make it really clear to the players that they are the ones on the pitch, and after my job is to then support them and give them what they need to perform.’

One thing Bompastor has prepared for is that Gotham will be physically sharp due to them being in season. But our head coach hopes to nullify such a threat.

‘Our game model will be to focus on ourselves,’ Bompastor said. ‘We know Gotham are in season so they will be sharp, but one way we can make sure we don’t play to their game is to control it and have possession of the ball.

‘If we go for a game where we play a lot more transitions then we will be in trouble. I’m expecting my team to possess the ball and control the game – making it move on the ground.’