The day is finally here, Mauricio Pochettino is officially Chelsea head coach. The announcement was more than a month ago and he's even taken charge of another side in the meantime, but from July 1 the former Spurs boss will be in blue.
Pochettino has just over two weeks until the club's pre-season tour of the United States and six weeks until the Premier League kicks into action, to implement his methods and ensure his team can meet the fitness requirements of the division. He will not be able to meet all of his players immediately however, with much of the squad having different return dates dependent on their international involvement. Levi Colwill, Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke are all still involved with the Under-21 European Championships for example.
The 51-year-old coach is set to firmly begin his time in charge on July 3 as senior players start making their way back with the likes of Armando Broja set to be involved having already spent time with the development team, who have been in Portugal. The boss will hope to get off to quick start and will have some big tasks in his in-tray when he sets up his office at Cobham.
football.london takes a look at what will be on Pochettino's to-do list...
Decide who has a future
The decisions are well underway given a raft of Chelsea departures in the form of Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy, Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovacic, N'Golo Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but there remains a fairly significant group of players with uncertain futures.
The next steps of Conor Gallagher and Trevoh Chalobah are uncertain while the likes of Cesar Azpilicueta, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic and Pierre-Emerich Aubameyang appear set to depart the club. Thomas Tuchel took all of his senior players who saw their futures lying elsewhere to the USA last summer on an ill-fated pre-season tour 12 months ago. When the likes of Marcos Alonso, Ross Barkley and Michy Batshuayi all departed, it was impossible not to feel like time had been wasted.
Lampard highlighted an issue with the number of disillusioned players at Chelsea towards the end of his tenure. Pochettino must look to avoid that atmosphere creeping into the early days of his time in charge and ensure enthusiasm is high as he tries to put across his ideas.
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Find new leaders
The new Blues boss will quickly need to become familiar with his players, no easy task as they return sporadically in his first weeks. With the possible departure of Azpilicueta as club captain, and with former armband-wearers in Kovacic, Jorginho gone and Mount almost out the door, Pochettino needs a new leader.
Noni Madueke has said this summer: "Everyone here has huge aspirations, individually and collectively, but I feel like the process we’re in right now is just about getting a little bit better every day, getting better every game, and growing closer. It’s for the future – we are trying to build the foundations now for a successful club and team."
Pochettino will have to harness that, and find the correct new characters to help lead this team into a new era. There is a possibility only three players from the starting XI that played in the Champions League final versus Manchester City will be in the squad that heads to the USA.
Talk to Levi Colwill
The defender has been declared not for sale by Chelsea, but there is still the task of persuading the defender to extend his contract at Stamford Bridge. His current deal is due to expire in 2025, but the 20-year-old is seen as a figure key to Chelsea's future.
This may not be top of Pochettino's list on the first day due to Colwill's involvement in the Under-21 European Championships. However, if the youngster requires some assurances of Pochettino's plans before committing to the club, it is necessary for the new Blues boss to have the discussion.
Thiago Silva once again has just a year on his contract and is 38 years old, and Colwill perhaps has the highest ceiling of Chelsea's remaining young defenders. With Benoit Badiashile still returning from injury, Colwill could quickly find himself in the starting lineup should he prove himself to Pochettino.
Build the team's fitness
The priority for most in pre-season, with Pochettino and Jesus Perez having particular reputations for testing their teams in the early days on the training ground. The Blues are expected to cover a lot of ground when featuring in Pochettino's system and his team will quickly have to diminish concerns over their ability to sustain their competition.
The Chelsea squad's capacity to compete and fitness were quickly questioned by Lampard when he became interim manager, and the west London side cannot afford to have such deficiencies again. The application in early sessions could go a long way to helping Pochettino making early decisions on players too.
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