Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel says he doesn’t need to fine players in order to maintain discipline at Cobham, insisting: “I am not the police here. I am not hanging around the window checking the time.”
Tuchel has enjoyed a fine start at Stamford Bridge since taking over from Frank Lampard at the end of January. The Blues are unbeaten in 11 matches under the German and will look to extend that to twelve tomorrow when they take on Leeds United at Elland Road. During his brief period in charge, Tuchel has managed to unite the Chelsea squad. He has brought several players on the fringes under Frank Lampard back into the first-team fold, with the likes of Marcos Alonso, Antonio Rudiger and Jorginho impressing in recent matches.
Thomas Tuchel said: “I’m not aware of that. First of all, I trust that people show up on time because a group is like a family. If you want to live together in harmony, everybody needs to accept certain values about how the family is run. I’m more into trusting and feeling the same values and convincing them about the values than into setting the rules and setting fines. I’m not against fines but I think it should be something in the dressing room, something the experienced players take care of. They set the rules themselves with the fines. It is absolutely clear that when we do training at eleven, then it starts at eleven. Not two past eleven. But I have the feeling that this is a very reliable group.”
Tuchel insists no player has yet been late for a team meeting or for a training session. And that’s why he isn’t going to concern himself with the minutiae of day-to-day activity at Cobham.
Thomas Tuchel said: “Everybody has been on time at the moment. This is what concerns me. If a player arrives at 10.01, 9.59, or whatever, I am not the police here. I am not hanging around the window checking the time. I have a job to do and I expect my players to take care of that. To live and guide as an example how you live at Chelsea.”
