Pochettino’s Unique Method to Bolster Mudryk’s Confidence

Chelsea’s £89m Signing Struggles to Find His Feet

It’s not every day you hear of a Premier League manager partaking in a crossbar challenge to boost a player’s confidence. Yet, as reported by BBC Sport, that’s exactly the tactic Chelsea’s Mauricio Pochettino is using with his big-money signing from Shakhtar Donetsk, Mykhailo Mudryk.

Mudryk, crowned the Ukrainian Footballer of the Year in 2022, made a notable switch to Chelsea in January. However, the transition hasn’t been smooth sailing. The winger, who commanded a fee that could rise to £89m, has yet to find the back of the net in 22 outings for the Blues.

Cobham Head-to-Head: Pochettino vs Mudryk

Delving deeper into their training ground routines, Pochettino revealed, “With Mudryk, I like to play sometimes to [hit] the crossbar from outside the box.” It appears that this activity, often seen as a light-hearted game amongst players, holds a deeper meaning for the Chelsea manager.

Mudryk’s playful banter with his boss illuminates his initial hesitation: “He said to me, ‘I don’t want to play anymore with you because you always win.’ I said ‘yes, because I have the belief, and the balance between belief and quality I know very well because I’m 50 years old. You’re still young and you need to know yourself’.”

Pochettino’s method seems to be bearing fruit. “Today [Tuesday] was the first day we draw, because I always won. Now you start to believe in yourself, believe in your quality. If not, it’s difficult to balance belief and quality,” he remarked.

Mudryk’s Journey: From Shakhtar to Chelsea

Before gracing the Premier League and the lush turf of Stamford Bridge, Mudryk was lighting up Ukrainian football. A shift to Arsenal was even on the cards before Chelsea managed to secure his signature. A commendable record of 10 goals in 18 appearances for Shakhtar during the first half of the 2022-23 season only heightened the expectations of the Chelsea faithful.

Pochettino, acknowledging the mounting pressure on his young charge, commented before Chelsea’s clash against Brighton in the Carabao Cup, “The problem is we can’t buy confidence at the supermarket.” He accentuates the nuances of building player trust, stating, “You know how our brains work – it’s about little by little, creating situations where we can provide the trust and the confidence and the belief.”

While the path to Premier League acclimatisation might be a tad rocky for Mudryk at the moment, with the astute guidance of Pochettino, and some unconventional methods, it won’t be surprising to see him soon at his dazzling best.