Chelsea will not get lost in ´honeymoon atmosphere´, vows Tuchel

Thomas Tuchel has vowed he will not allow his Chelsea players to get caught up in a “honeymoon atmosphere” after his fine start in charge at the club.

Since replacing the sacked Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge, Tuchel has revived the Blues’ fortunes.

Chelsea have gone 11 matches unbeaten across all competitions, winning eight.

They travel to Leeds United on Saturday sitting fourth in the Premier League table, still in contention for Champions League and FA Cup glory as well.

Tuchel was asked when he thinks his honeymoon period will come to an end ahead of the trip to Elland Road.

“Hopefully [it can go on forever]!” said Tuchel. “Hopefully it lasts until Saturday and we keep on winning and performing. 

“It is a pleasure to be here, I’m very happy and grateful for that. 

“Nevertheless, we are here to do a job: we need to win games. We need to take care about the atmosphere, and this is what we do. 

“We cannot get too lost in a honeymoon atmosphere, or anything else, we have to be focused. 

“This is what we do, what we try, to reach our best level. 

“We will for sure not waste one second reflecting on maybe when this will end. That is not what we are focused on, we are focused on continuing to press on.”

 

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 12, 2021

Tuchel is only on an 18-month contract at Chelsea but already feels extremely settled just over six weeks into his tenure.

The former Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund boss added: “I feel very comfortable, very happy. 

“All I wished for as a coach is here. I feel a part of a big football club that is run like a family, I feel a lot of support and feel very, very comfortable with my team. 

“It is a pleasure to compete with them, to be on the sideline, to be around them and be in Cobham, in this club, every day. 

“This is maybe what you feel out there, because it’s the reality regarding my feelings and my situation here.”

Victory over Leeds would put Chelsea third in the table, given Leicester City do not face Sheffield United until Sunday.

Chelsea have lost away to a promoted club in each of the past three Premier League seasons (Newcastle United in 2017-18, Wolves in 2018-19 and Sheffield United 2019-20). 

Having already won at Fulham and drawn at West Brom this season, avoiding defeat against Leeds will ensure they keep up a record of never losing to a promoted side for four consecutive campaigns.

Leeds come into the game after losing a second consecutive Premier League game for the fifth time this season.

However, they are yet to lose three in a row so far in the campaign. Indeed, they have not lost three consecutive league games since November 2017.