Before he arrived at Chelsea last summer, Pochettino coached at Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain. Each club provided the Argentine with different challenges but his commitment to his role was unwavering.

‘When I was at Espanyol, my first experience as a coach, I was in at 7am at the training ground every morning,' Pochettino explained. 'Then I moved to Southampton and was there at 6.30am every morning. At Tottenham, I was in at 7am or 7.30am.

‘At Paris Saint-Germain, it was 6am. Here at Chelsea it is 6.40am or 6.45am – and you can ask the guys at security! I’m not going to change because after 15 years my motivation and passion is still football.

‘After 15 years of working, I'm not in a comfortable zone where I arrive at 9am and leave at 2pm. I keep pushing myself and my coaching staff because we want to win and be competitive.

'It’s not that you arrived at Chelsea and believe you are so good – or that people believe you're are so good – that you do the minimum effort. No, the responsibility is more now. For us, we feel that and it’s why we try to deliver on the job.'

The Blues head coach wasn't happy with his side's performance out of possession in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Burnley – and he wants to see his players 'behave like Chelsea' against Manchester United this evening.

'Football is about players with talent and the right mentality,' he said. 'Mentality means you can deal with the pressure and express your talent with freedom, without limitations in your environment.

'It’s about playing the same way you played as a child when you play at Chelsea in front of 40,000 people, with the cameras, and because you need to win a title.

'We have experience of this. We have worked with many big players when they were young and they evolved to be the top players in the world. We also have met world champions, so we know how to identify this type of player.

‘It is a combination of mentality, heart and talent. That is the combination. So we need to push them and it's about helping them reach their real level.'

Pochettino added: 'The demands of winning are completely different. You need to prepare yourself to win every game, be mature, know yourself and know all the people around you.

'We are still building this mentality that will help, [where a player] demands more of themselves and their teammates and is stronger.

'The example is the last game because I agree with the critical comments on me or the team. You know why? Because you cannot draw a game like this if you’re Chelsea – that is how I described the situation and the game.’