Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has been using an unorthodox training method to help Mykhailo Mudryk overcome his psychological issues and kickstart his season, following his troublesome start to life in west London.
Mudryk’s Tough Start To Life At Chelsea
Since his arrival for £88m in January the Ukranian winger has struggled to live up to his hefty pricetag, contributing just two assists and failing to score in twenty Premier League appearances for the west London club.
In the hope of igniting the 22-year-old’s form, Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has been aiming to build his underperforming star’s ‘belief’ with the crossbar challenge.
“You know how it works in the brain,” said Pochettino. “It is about, little by little, creating situations that can provide trust, confidence, and belief.
“One example… today, with Mudryk, I like to play hitting the crossbar from outside the box. But he said to me, ‘No, I’m not going to play anymore with you because always you win’.
“I said, ‘Yes, because I have the belief. The balance in between belief and quality I know very well because I am 51 and you are still young. You need to still know yourself’.”
🔵🇺🇦 Pochettino: “Mudryk said to me: I don’t want to play crossbar challenge with you anymore because you always win”.
“I said: yes, because I had the belief, I know the balance very well because I am 50 years old. You are still young, you need to still know yourself”. pic.twitter.com/LVr1pKYNZx
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 27, 2023
Despite failing to beat the former PSG manager so far, it does appear as if the Ukraine international’s fortunes have begun to turn after avoiding defeat in today’s face-off.
Pochettino continued: “Today was the first time we drew in the challenge. Now, you start to believe in yourself, you start to believe in your quality because, if not, it is not a good balance between belief and quality.
“It is difficult. That is important. It is one aspect of how you work on the psychology of the player and how you can make the difference and provide him with the confidence afterwards to touch the ball and score rather than to go outside or inside. It’s a small example.”
Chelsea’s Struggles In Front Of Goal
Pochettino will be hoping his unique training method will give Mudryk the confidence to help his struggling Chelsea side. The Blues currently reside in 15th in the table, having mustered just one win this season. To make matters worse, Pochettino’s side have failed to score in three consecutive games as the team continues to gel.
Speaking on his team’s struggles in front of goal, the Argentinian said: “Confidence in one aspect is to score goals. We need to be more natural.
“To create chances, it’s not only about your positional game, your movement, if you play with one or two strikers, or different characteristics of the game, the most important thing is to be natural.
“We have been talking a lot in the last two days and we are going to work hard and remain positive.”
Chelsea face a tough test at home to Brighton in the Carabao Cup this evening, before travelling to London rivals Fulham on Monday evening.
Could a win against Brighton in the Carabao Cup be the catalyst for Chelsea’s season?
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