**Hi I just wanted to ask how did you react to signing Morgan Rogers? It’s a huge deal for Chelsea.**
Good afternoon everyone. For sure it’s it’s it’s a great signing, I think that in that position we we needed an important player and I’m sure that there were not many better options than Morgan so we are delighted. I think that it means a lot for everyone and for the players that are already here as well. They have good feeling and looking forward to have him in a few weeks.
**You also have Maxence Lacroix coming in as well. What will those add to the squad because they’re so experienced in the Premier League?**
Well we want to build a competitive team. For sure we are in that process, we have great quality, great talent and we need to to know what it takes to compete in the Premier League. And we want to have a squad with the right balance between quality and mentality. Those things that need to match in terms of maturity stage, where you are in your career, the moment that this this project is coming for for each player, the hunger, the desir,e the commitment. But I think that we are starting in a new new season with good energy that’s gonna be important.
**I mean the Rogers deal looked like it happened from the outside at least fairly quickly. Could you just talk us through how long you and the sporting directors have been looking at him and how it all happened?**
Luckily not, I can’t give much detail on those things, but luckily it happened quickly. And we have had Morgan. We were looking for him for a long time for sure. And it’s he’s gonna be a key player for the team for sure.
**Did you have a lot of conversations with him during the process?**
That stays confidential.
**Is the focus now trimming the squad a bit or do you still want to add a few more (players)?**
No, I think that we have to be ready. The market is open for a few weeks. We need to be aware of different positions, different situations. So for sure, we have a plan, we have an idea, and we need to assess in the right moment what we’re doing. We can’t say what’s gonna happen but some things might happen.
**Where do you see Morgan’s best position?**
I think that one of his best qualities is that he’s flexible. For sure. I think that he in that pocket position, close to the striker, close to the other 10. But he’s played as well on the right side as well, but I think that more coming from the left, coming from that position, we are playing that he feels that he’s enjoying his game, that he feels his flow. I think that he will have good connections with the other players that he can have around him. So if we get those
those connections right, those little associations between them that they look for each other and they connect well, I think that it will be a great step forward in the quality of our game.
**How long have you personally been watching him, appreciating him, as a player?**
I love football. Even when I was in Germany, I follow the Premier League, when I was in Spain as well, and now much more, so I know a lot of players.
**We talked a bit about the deal being done quickly. There’s obviously a big fee as well. There was reported interest from Arsenal. It feels a bit of a statement signing. How important is that for you as a new manager coming in to just have a big signing like that and so forth?**
When we started talking, we wanted to build out a competitive squad. You need players that can have almost instant impact and I’m sure that Morgan won’t need much time to or adaptations to the club, to the system, to the teammates. So that was the idea that we wanted to get top player and Morgan is one of them.
**You’ve got a big squad now. Would you expecting to slim that squad down?**
We need to be aware. I’ve said before, we need to know that probably there will still be some movements and we need to be flexible and we need to be quick to act. But the main thing is that we have a clear idea, a clear plan that we have built and probably it will change til the the last day the market is open.
**Would you prefer a smaller squad?**
I want a good squad.
**Have you got a number in mind in terms of how many players you want? Because there’s no European football. You don’t want too many players around who are not gonna get to play on a regular basis.**
Not too long, not too short. What is the number? I can’t give you that number, but for sure we need to have options because you know that we can be unlucky with injuries, for example, so we need to be prepared for that. We can have different circumstances so we can’t be really short either but we need to manage well those minutes. As well we have two cups so we need to fight for them as hard as for the Premier League this year. And that’s once we get the the right balance in terms of qualities, in terms of personalities, in terms of maturity moments. Hopefully we are looking for that and that when we are starting the first Premier League game in August, that we say okay, we have what we wanted or as close as we wanted and now we are ready to go.
**And have you decided your number one goalkeeper is going to be yet?**
Everything is open. All the positions. I say that the competition within the squad is positive and I like that.
**You mentioned Morgan Rogers needing time to adapt and connect with other players in the squad. I was just wondering if you have a plan yet next season for Cole Palmer and him, similar sort of profiles to play in the same eleven?**
Yes, I have a plan, I have an idea and I can see them linking really well. You need to have a good mix, good stability players and players that can play with more freedom and if we get that balance right and we get those special players in the right positions with good control, I think that we will be more competitive. With the ball and against the ball we need to be good.
**You had an incredible time in the Premier League with Liverpool as a player. How would you compare the league now going in as a coach?**
It has changed a lot. It was a long time ago. I left 2009, so we’ve seen the progression and the development of the league, of the teams, of the clubs, the coaches as well, the players. They were good years, but now I hope that I can enjoy it as well as a manager. So far I think that we have great qualities to work with. And now for sure we are not the whole squad, but the ones that are training they are doing well, they have good energy as well we are spending time with the players from the academy. To be honest I didn’t know them that well and they have really impressed me. The quality and even being really young they have top top quality and they are great projects to develop. So we are using this time together but for sure Premier League is is a very competitive environment.
**Chelsea is a club with expectations to deliver straight away. Do you feel like you have the time to really implement your style of play and get results straight away?**
Well, the idea is not to think too early about what’s gonna happen in May, what will be in May. We need to go step by step. We want to have a good start, but for that we need to create good energies, good chemistry within the team, clear ideas, and that’s that will develop for sure. I’m sure that the team that will start in August won’t be the same team that we finished in May, and I’m sure that that team in May will be better than the first day.
**You’ve been in charge for a few weeks now and gotten to know the squad. Can you reflect on what goals you’ve got this year? What would make you happy?**
I don’t want to talk too early or about what’s our goal. We want to have a good decision. We want to deserve to be as high as possible and for that we need to work hard, we need to develop this team with new players, with new coach, new ideas. But sometimes it takes longer, sometimes it happens spontaneously quicker. So be ready for to try to develop this this idea that we have, this plan, but so far good good feeling, good energy, the players they are working hard and and that’s what we wanted and gradually the other ones will will be coming and we need to to bring them in the in the dynamic as quick as possible.
**You’ve coached lots of different tactical systems over the years. Are you experimenting with that here or is it too soon?**
We will be flexible in our tactics, in our approaches, game plans. For sure the ideas, the principles of what we want can be the same. But we have tried and we will try different ideas, mainly because these players have done it. So it’s not that I’m changing everything. It’s about updating, developing something that they have done with new concepts that each manager has. But the good thing is that many things that I like they have already done. So now it’s about changing or updating a few other things.
**What are your expectations of your time down here? The facilities here at Sydney FC and what are you expecting on Tuesday night and also what can you tell us about the Australian boy in your team Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli?**
Well we are expecting having a productive and a good time here in Sydney, I’m sure. You don’t have the chance to come every weekend here to Sydney, so you need to pick the right time. So far it’s been good, but we have our first game on Tuesday and after on Saturday. And Mahdi, I was informed yesterday that he was born in Sydney, so it was a surprise. But he’s one of those talented players that come from the academy. Really impressed with him, with other ones but Mahdi is a talent that we need to help, we need to develop because he has special qualities that you don’t see that often with from a 16-year-old guy. I don’t know if he has an Australian passport but it will be tough for him to choose in the future.
**Watching last night at the open session where there’s a lot of supporters here for you in Sydney as well, but you’re very hands on getting involved. Is that always your style that you get really hands on, get your feet moving?**
Yeah yeah yeah. I like it, I feel it. I need to be close to the team, I need to participate with energy, with the intensity that I like to do things. I think that as far as I can run, I can touch the ball, I will try to do that.
**What are the qualities that Mahdi has that stand out for you?**
No, he has great dynamism, he has quality, very complete player. He can pass short, he can dribble in the middle. He has made a good impression so far.
**The season starts on August 24th. Will Morgan be ready for the start of the season?**
Yes. All the ones that come they come later because they reach farther stages in the World Cup, they will be ready. We have a few of them so they have to be ready.
**Last season Chelsea covered the least distance in the Premier League. When you were managing Leverkusen I think it was pretty much the opposite. Have you identified that is an area to up the intensity?**
We need to compete. We need to have good energy, we need to run, we need to work hard, we need to have the sacrifice that is compulsory or mandatory, I don’t know how you say, in each Premier League game to win each game is really tough. So we need to be prepared for that. And we are using this time for those so we will see first game.