Chelsea have recorded two wins in the opening week of their pre-season tour of the USA with victories over Wrexham and Brighton as Newcastle United lie in wait next
Early results have brought a positivity that was not present on Chelsea's pre-season tour a year ago. Discontent with training facilities, a commitment to players destined to depart Stamford Bridge and strained relationships ensured a difficult time in 2022.
While that has been the case, he was patient with his stars in North Carolina, with Levi Colwill, Mykhailo Mudryk, Enzo Fernandez and Noni Madueke seeing their training being more limited and being left out of the squad to face Wrexham. The same approach was taken with Reece James after he arrived late to the squad following illness too.
Jesus Perez has been a keen observer each time Pochettino has faced the media, with multiple members of the head coach's staff in the room when he previewed the game. How much he values his assistant has quickly become evident, and his influence is clear as he acts as a conduit in a number of areas.
Encouragingly, progress is being made with the team too. The patterns Chelsea showed in the early training sessions, as Pochettino cajoled his players to perform every instance with care, and drove his team to recover to their positions to repeat their actions, started to appear against Brighton. It feels like the club are moving forwards.
Chelsea were provided a late day off by Pochettino and his staff, and the likes of Thiago Silva and Angelo Gabriel went to a gun range in Philadelphia, while others explore the city. They will be back to work on Monday before travelling to Atlanta in time for pre-match duties on Tuesday ahead of facing Newcastle
Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley have all been present on the tour so far, perhaps a sign of the business that is still required for Pochettino to achieve the balanced squad he requires. The 51-year-old even explicitly said that he would like to see experience added to the group at his disposal.
Progress in those departments would certainly inspire continued vigour in Chelsea's work, with almost two weeks remaining of the tour despite being two matches in. Sustaining the progress as the Blues move to three more cities will be Pochettino and co's test.