Noni Madueke endured a difficult first half of the season at times, as injury hindered his efforts to gain momentum and find his form, but the winger has shown signs recently that those issues could be behind him.

Since his return in December, Noni’s brief appearance at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Christmas Eve was followed by a decisive intervention off the bench against Crystal Palace, when he earned and then converted the penalty kick which sealed our 2-1 victory.

That was followed by his first start since October, when he found the net for the second game in a row with an excellent strike, as we won 3-2 away at Luton Town in our final fixture of 2023.

Mauricio Pochettino has been pleased to see the level of improvement Madueke has shown recently, pointing to the player’s attitude as a key reason behind it.

‘We have spoken about players needing to improve and he is a player that has improved a lot,’ said Pochettino. ‘I am so happy with his behaviour and the way he has committed, first with himself and also with the other areas of the club.

‘He has potential and talent, but it’s in the way he behaves and does things in the future that will help him succeed.

‘It is an example that there is a platform for everyone, then it is about being right in their mind and being consistent in the way we propose they behave.’

Speaking ahead of today’s FA Cup third round tie against Preston North End at Stamford Bridge, Pochettino also discussed Ian Maatsen’s chances of featuring in the game following an injury set-back.

‘He was injured during the week and could not train. It was a problem in his back,’ added our head coach.

‘Now he has come back in training and he is going to be involved in the squad. He will not play from the start, but he will be involved in the squad.’

Turning his attention to the match itself, Pochettino acknowledged that the opportunity to secure European football for next season is an added incentive in the FA Cup, but insists he and his squad are not getting ahead of themselves, focusing purely on the next match.

‘I am not thinking about the end of the season. We are so focused on trying to evolve the team, improve and be more consistent in our performances and results.

‘Of course, we hope the consequence of being focused and building good results is to finish by qualifying for European competition.

‘But our aim is just to go through in the FA Cup and not to think too far ahead. We need the players to be solid in a different competition.’

The task of building an FA Cup run starts later today, when we get our campaign under way against Preston at 5.30pm.