ffering an insight into the brutal running drills put on by Mauricio Pochettino, Ben Chilwell simply states: “Everyone was on their knees.”
During the head coach’s favoured Gacon test, a gruelling intermittent shuttle run designed to test mental and physical resolve, Chelsea players were ready to quit after their eighth lap.
Pochettino gave them the chance to give up but told them if they completed another two laps he would take them all out for dinner.
“Of course we all finished it…” says Chilwell. “And now we’re waiting for the dinner!”
The episode is an example of how Pochettino is rebuilding what was a broken spirit at Chelsea last season. Encouraging pre-season performances against Wrexham, Brighton and Newcastle have renewed hope and been reinforced by gruelling training sessions.
Speaking here in Atlanta on Chelsea’s pre-season tour of America, Chilwell explains how Pochettino gets his players to break through barriers, both mental and physical.
“It’s not just manager-player relationship, it’s more personal where you kind of want to work for each other,” says the left-back. “I have [had similar connections] but after two or three weeks it’s pretty rare to feel like you want to run through a wall for someone.
“Last season we weren’t fit enough if we’re being honest, so every player in the squad agreed that was what we needed — and it wasn’t just the first week, it’s continued.
“The first week was a bit of a shock for everyone. It reminded me of going back to youth team days when we used to call it getting ‘beasted’.
“It will continue for the rest of pre-season. Physically we’re all in a good place.”
Chilwell was a cross-country runner growing up and won Pochettino’s Gacon test. He is the archetypal Pochettino player, boasting great physical and technical attributes as an attacking full-back.
The average age of the Chelsea squad is about 22 and Chilwell laughs when it is put to him that, at 26, he is the third oldest outfield player at the club.
It means he is a frontrunner to take over as Chelsea captain from Cesar Azpilicueta following his departure to Atletico Madrid.
Chilwell is one of just three remaining players who started the Champions League Final in 2021 and, having been at Chelsea for three years, is one of their longest-serving players.
Pochettino will select his captain at the end of pre-season. Reece James, Thiago Silva and Raheem Sterling are also in the frame for the role.
“I would love to be captain,” says Chilwell. “I was captain of the youth team at Leicester. Whether I get it or not, it’s not going to take away from my role.
“I don’t think you need an armband to be a leader so whether I get it or I don’t I’ll continue to do what I’m doing.”
I would love to be captain … Whether I get it or not, it’s not going to take away from my role.
Chilwell has previously revealed he has had counselling to handle the rigours of top-level football and continues to champion athletes opening up through mental health support. During his interview, Chilwell reveals how he spoke to Armando Broja “every morning” after the striker tore his anterior cruciate ligament in December, an injury he had sustained a year earlier.
His compassionate side also comes across when dealing with Mykhailo Mudryk, who endured a difficult six months after his £88.5million January move from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Mudryk failed to live up to the hype around his transfer but Chilwell put his arm around him after he scored a stunning volley in the 4-3 win over Brighton last weekend.
Chilwell says: “With Mischa, I just see endless bags of potential that hasn’t been fulfilled yet.
“I’ve told him that, I literally had a conversation with him after training in the changing room, he can be such a good player for us and we know how good he is.
“I just like to make people feel confident in themselves. When I have these conversations with Mischa for example, it’s just to make him feel like he’s unstoppable so that he goes into the next game so full of confidence.”
Chilwell is keen to press home the demands of playing for the Blues to a young squad.
Chelsea have built an identity of winning and he does not think that has changed.
“I was talking to Reece about it today,” he says. “There are only a few boys who were here last season so we feel a responsibility to be the leaders of the group.
“We want to help the younger players on their path and understand the demands of playing for Chelsea which is to win. That’s a must.
“There are a lot of players here who are very talented but we need to also make sure that being at Chelsea means we have to win trophies.”
Mason Mount, Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic have all left to join Premier League rivals who, in truth, look better placed to win the title and finish above Chelsea next season.
Chilwell last season signed a new contract to extend his stay by two years.
“I won the Champions League in my first season, and after seeing the
reaction that it brought around the club, I want to feel that again with Chelsea — not just [anywhere] in football but with Chelsea,” he says.
“I want to help Chelsea get back to winning titles and winning cups. And I know that we will get there soon.”
